


Canton Comics

by WhedonWednesday



Category: Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom, Zachary Levi - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humour, Multiple Fandoms, Sarcasm, nerd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:48:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1313734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhedonWednesday/pseuds/WhedonWednesday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It great being a nerd running your own comic book shop with your best friend. It gets even better when one of you gets a job as an extra on Thor 2 as it's being filmed in London, and your major crush is in it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking a chance on our story. We don't know how long it's going to be, but that's half the fun right? We'll try to update regularly, so if you enjoy this chapter and don't want to miss any more, click subscribe.
> 
> I guess we have to say that we don't know any of the recognisable people featured in this story and no offence is intended by our words, we just enjoy playing with our versions of them.

**_Chapter One_ **

I signed the contract and handed it over along with my driving licence for ID. I was officially an extra on _Thor: The Dark World_ , my geeky little dream coming true. Quickly, I dashed off a text to my flatmate and enabler, telling her that I was ready and waiting to get my Asgard on. Seething with jealousy her reply contained little more than, “ _!?!?#+@+@$@+@?”_ She was stuck at work and had been unable to join me at the open call. I felt bad, for a little bit.

Almost skipping, I unlocked my car and pulled away from the curb, The Kaiser Chiefs blaring through the open window. I weaved through the London traffic, stopping off at the local supermarket to pick up pizza, chips n dip, and lots of cider before pulling into my space outside Canton Comics. I climbed out of my beat up Mini and lit a cigarette.

"Cam!" Christie, my best friend, flatmate, and business partner had her head sticking out of the door. "Get your arse in here!" I slung my cigarette butt into the gutter and walked inside. When Christie called, you answered for fear of being made the centre of attention by her rising of the volume of her voice.

"Problem?" I grinned, shrugging off my jacket as Christie stole the pizza from my hands, the belt of her blue dressing gown getting tangled around her wrist. Hitch Hiker's day was one of her favourites.

"Oh, no, I just want to know why you've not spilled everything!" She pulled a serious face and scowled, "How was it? Did you see anyone cute?" Peeking behind me, as though I was dragging a handsome bloke in on a lead, she scowled again, "at least tell me you bought booze?" I clutched my hand to my chest.

"You wound me." I threw my car keys at her. "Back seat." I jumped up to sit on the counter and watched her run out to the car, sniggering as the two barely pubescent kids rifling through the Marvel collection watched her in awe. Christie always did attract the looks with her petite, hourglass figure. Many a man had been caught with his eyes glued her rather impressive rack rather than her face. The dark, wavy hair that fell to her waist highlighted her bright blue eyes, pale skin covered in freckles, and envy causing cheekbones. If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her.

***

Once the everything was closed up, and the money had been locked away, Christie and I schlepped up to the flat above the shop and collapsed in a heap in the front room.

"Well?" She stared impatiently. I was rather impressed she’d lasted so long without drilling me.

"Well, I signed in and they had a load of us there, and somehow I'd ended up in the group of girls being told to pretend we were fawning over Fandral! I mean.... That cad!"

"What are you, from the 1840s?"

"Do you want to know or not?"

"Yes! Of course!" She sat forward, eyes wide with excitement.

"Then shut it and let me talk. So we're just fawning and gasping and I'm stood there making breathy sex noises...' The traitorous bitch burst out laughing.

'And one of the women assessing us, or whatever - I mean man, I felt like a piece of meat you know? - She was like 'that’s what Zac will love! Total slutting it up! Good work 71.' And I have to look down and check the sticker to see if she's talking to me, which she was, and I totally didn’t even realise that she's just said ‘Zac’ until like thirty seconds later. Like man, _the_ Zac. There's only one Zac on this planet, Christie'

'No no. Cam. I'm 97% sure there are thousands of Zacs in the world.'

'Only one that matters, though. The smart, hot, cute one who wasn't in the first movie because he was starring in a fucking TV series'

'Oh. That Zac'. Did I detect an eye roll?

That Zac indeed. Zachary Levi, the imaginary bane of my life and total hot shit who frequented my nerd thoughts. I may have sighed out loud at the thought of being on the same continent as him, never mind on the same movie set.

'Did you see him? Or anyone?' ‘Anyone’ translated to a certain Mr Hiddleston.

'None of the main cast were there, but I'm starting on Tuesday and am hoping I get to feast my eyes on that geeky bastard.'

'Tuesday? But, Supernatural day's your favourite.' Yes it was, but I would forgo my biker boots, jeans, plaid shirt, and leather jacket for Mr Levi any day. I would even sacrifice watching the beautiful Jensen Ackles on the huge projector screen we had at the back of the shop on which we projected DVDs of our favourite TV shows and films.

'It is a hardship I shall endeavour to endure. Plus side, it means your Watson shall still be at your beck and call on Monday Ms. Holmes.' It never ceased to amaze and amuse me that Christie Holmes (yes, real name) was a HUGE Sherlock fan. It was like kismet of some such bullshit.

"You know you're only Watson because I have the cheekbones for Holmes, and the family with the penchant for murder mysteries."

"You just like playing detective."

"And you'll earn your title as detective once you've detected one of those hot nerd boys you're going to be working with." Her grin widened to ridiculous proportions.

"Detected? Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Call it what you want, just make sure you share when you get to the scene of the crime" she winked and kicked her feet up to rest on the table in front of us, reaching out to sip her cider... I grinned at her and relaxed my head on the back of the sofa, imagining what it was going to be like.

***

Tuesday rolled around in no time, especially my alarm going off at four am which had me momentarily reassessing my options. Hanging out on a movie set won and would pretty much every time. I dragged myself out of bed, through the quickest shower in the western world, and out into my car, all in the space of twenty-five minutes. A new personal best.

Since I was mate less and companionless, I made my way through costume and makeup, fiddling on my phone. It was a weird process, becoming an Asgardian maiden, but by the end I knew I'd look gorgeous.

I was no longer simply a tall blonde with hazel eyes. They had transformed me into an absolute goddess. What I knew as blonde hair, curled around my shoulders, was a striking gold, my eyes burning bright like a summer sunset. As I rose from my chair, I realised I even felt taller. I was Asgardian. Statuesque.

The shock of seeing myself in costume made my hands shake. I walked outside to light a cigarette, the nicotine coursing through my system and calming me. I pulled my phone out of my corset and took a photo of my hair and makeup to send to Christie and to tweet. I couldn't work out how to fit in the entire outfit without going back into a mirror. I stood, struggling for a good ten minutes before giving up.

'Need some help with that?' A well spoken voice behind me made me jump. I turned and found myself face to face with Loki himself, complete with a smouldering roll up and coffee. “I’ll take the picture.”

If I had been Christie, I'd have thrown up. If I'd been anyone else, I'd have died.

"Yeah? Thanks. I gotta send this to my girl.' I joked, "Want me to hold your fag??"

"Sure. Pass me your phone." He smiled and we traded objects, "you look gorgeous." I freely admit to blushing, but hid it as I smiled brightly as he took a photo of me. It wasn’t every day I got a compliment from an A list celebrity.

'Thank you so much.' I handed his things back to him and pulled my own cigarette box out of the knee high boots I was wearing and lit another one.

"Anytime. So, your girl? Partner?" He watched me closely, I think trying to work me out but sorely failing.

"Business partner. Best friend. Roommate. Unluckier in love than I am, but more into her film geekery." I grinned. "She'll love this."

"Oh!" His face read something like thank-fuck-you-seem-available, "that's cool! So... She's not here?"

'No, she's manning the fort back at the shop, seething with jealousy.' Before I could say anymore, a voice began calling for all extras to gather. 'Thanks for the photo.'

'Anytime.' Tom Hiddleston smiled at me and continued to smoke his cigarette as I walked away. _Tom Hiddleston smiled at me!!!_ Christie was gonna flip.

***

“Cam… why are you eating ice cream and crying?” Christie threw the fake gun onto the bed next to me and sat down, extracting the tub of Raspberry Ripple from my hands.

“I can’t even begin.” I held my head in my hands, unsure whether to cry or what. “Ohhh, for fuck sake.” I groaned.

“What happened? Did you get sacked as an extra? I thought you looked amazing, and it’s not as if you had to speak, so you couldn’t offend anyone.” I glared at her knowing full well what she meant.

“Tom Hiddleston asked if I was a lesbian as he took the photo that I sent you this morning.”

Silence… followed by raucous and hysterical laughter. She was laughing her head off, collapsed back next to me.

"You know this means he thought you were a lesbian too?"

"Oh... Shit." And now she was snorting for an entirely different reason. "I'm pretty sure we need to put up a sign outside the shop. No lesbians here, but all lesbians welcome."

"That is so not the point right now, Christie." I lifted my head and glared again, "Your movie star crush was asking me if I was straight while he was smoking and chasing it with coffee. In full fucking costume."

"He's smoking? Again?" I didn't want to know how she knew he had stopped and started in the first place, but she was really missing the point, as usual.

“Smoking or not, he asked if I was a lesbian. I’m just glad Fandral wasn’t there to witness it.” And the laughter was back.

“Did you get to see the delectable Mr Levi at all?”

“No. Hopefully I’ll get that honour on Thursday when I’m back on set.”

“On set? Check you out with the lingo.” Any excuse to tease me, she took it.

“Fuck off.”

“At least you’ll be here for Whedon Wednesday.” This week I was dressing up as Jayne Cobb as the weather was turning cold and the hat was really warm. Even if I did look like a complete dickhead. Not that I cared, both Christie and I loved dressing up in the shop; it was something we both enjoyed and had done since we’d met at Hallowhedon five years previously.

"I am sorry about dumping half the days this week. We could pull in some help, if you want?" I really did feel guilty about leaving her alone.

"No! Our store, we run it. Nobody else comes in or out." She was right, but bloody stubborn.

"You are aware we're selling comics, not uranium, right?"

"Some of our stuff is worth more than a nuclear war, Cam."

"I know, but-" The words were knocked out of me by a pillow to the chest. "Hey!"

"No! You brought business up in bed!"

"My bed, my rules!" She snorted at me.

“I bet you say that to all your lesbian lovers.”

“Out of my bed woman!”

***

Whedon Wednesday was always a hit with our regulars, especially the girls. Bless God Joss for introducing the world to strong and believable female characters. It was the day we tended to sell the most figurines, plus it followed deliveries on Tuesday, so the new stock was out and the first to go. It was the main day of the week that both Christie and I were on the go from the moment we opened, to the moment we locked up.

Canton Comics wasn’t a big shop, but we prided ourselves on providing the personal touch and often tracked stuff down that people couldn’t just snag off Amazon or they lost an EBay auction. This was what kept people coming back. The coffee machine helped too.

“It’s been a long day.” Christie moaned as she sank into one of the beaten up leather sofas that were placed right at the back of the shop with a fresh cup of coffee. Once again, she’d forgotten how she hated Inara’s dresses. They looked gorgeous, but were deceptively heavy and wore her out.

“Bloody freezing too.” I pulled my Jayne Cobb hat off my head and ruffled my flat hair, the curls bouncing back a little. “I can’t wait to lock the door and get in my PJs.” Christie rolled her neck, the cracking echoing loudly in the almost empty space.

“Sounds like heaven. Plus, you have an early start as an Asgardian wench.”

“I’d almost forgotten about that.” I lied; just thinking about it had my heart thumping.

“Yeah, bollocks.” Our conversation was interrupted by the bell above the door ringing, indication someone had entered the shop. I glanced at the clock above the till.

“Why the hell do they always turn up ten minutes before closing?” Christie rolled her eyes and we both stood, her straightening out her gown, and me putting the hat back on and tightening my holster.

"Good evening! How can we help you?" Christie kept her eyes on the clock, still tugging at the dress without turning to our customer. "I'm sorry, if you're looking for coffee, we've shut off the mach-oh!"

I had never seen her speechless before. Usually there was sarcasm oozing out of every pore, but in that moment, she looked like a puppy staring down a vacuum cleaner. I had to step in.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” I looked up at a tall, bottle blonde with a ropey goatee and familiar eyes…”Oh…” I spun to glare at my so-called best friend for neglecting to warn me. What kind of friend wouldn’t tell someone when their major crush had walked into their place of business? Maybe it was time to consider a replacement…

“Is it okay if I just take a look round? I was on my way back to my hotel and spotted the store.” His voice washed over me, much more liquid like in the flesh than it was in interviews. “I need something other than TV to chill out with tonight.”

"Sure!" I managed to squeak, "If you're after anything in particular I'll get Christie to look for it." She glared at me, obviously sore under the weight of her dress, but she deserved it, the cheeky cow.

"Don't you mean Inara, Cobb?" He chuckled and nodded, "I'll let you know if I think of anything." I mentally slapped myself as I answered with a ‘Cobb grunt’ and flounced out to the stockroom to flail in private. As I attempted to regain my composure in the tiny dark room. I could hear Christie’s voice. I wanted to go out and make sure she wasn’t embarrassing me, but that was also what kept me tucked away until I heard the bell again.

“He’s gone!” I opened the door to look out and saw her locking the door. "And by God is he hot, well, he’s no Hiddles, but very pretty."

"You'd best not have talked about me!"

"He complimented my cosplay, and said you looked cute in the hat. He asked if we were sisters, and I told him no, we're just friends." I wanted to vomit. At least he didn’t ask if we were life partners.

"Did he buy anything?"

"No but he said he'd be back soon, he wanted to look through our DVDs. Poor sod looked knackered." The nausea wasn’t going anywhere. I felt like such a school kid instead of an almost thirty something year old woman. Why did I have to act like such a nerd?

Christie's voice brought me back to the present.

"Quit it with that face, Cam. He probably didn't even notice your flailing. I freaked out too."

"But you don't think he's hot! Well, not in the same way I do." I was no longer a school kid. I was a fresher at uni drunk off my tits, "so why did you speak to him so easily!"

"Because, div, he's a customer! He's perusing our wares!"

“I wouldn’t mind perusing _his_ wares.” I muttered.

“You trollop. At least you’ve met him, so when you fall over him on set, it won’t be as mortifying.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” I stomped up to the flat in a bit of a strop, Christie’s laughter floating after me.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were blown away by the reception the first chapter received. Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments.
> 
> Yet again, we feel obligated to inform you that we don't know the famous people included in this story... more's the pity!

**_Chapter Two_ **

Christie was always disgustingly chipper on Saturday mornings. She insisted upon opening the store at our normal hours, when she knew that I would - more often than not - still be recovering from the bottles of wine we'd both drunk the night before. I didn't understand why she didn't get hangovers, but it was nice to know, that on this particular Saturday, her mood would sour throughout the day as I avoided telling her the truth about my time on set.

I hadn’t even wanted to think about it, I was glad that my time there would be coming to an end even though I would need to remain available in case extras were needed for reshoots… or something. It had been an eye opening experience, one I would want to repeat, as long as I didn’t meet anyone from the Thor set ever again. Well, there were things I wanted to do to certain members of the cast, but … There were times I’d wanted to run and hide.

Chuck Saturday was a pretty new acquisition to the shop, formerly Random Fandom until the both of us rekindled our love affair with the accidental spy with a decent amount of alcohol and the day was born. Admittedly, not many of our regulars knew much about it, but the screen playing the DVD on a loop soon got them interested, and we soon had a band of merry nerd herders.

I sat on the high stool behind the till dressed, this week, as Jeff whilst ‘Lester’ made coffee for those hanging around the sofas at the back of the shop. At least once a week, usually Saturday, Christie would remind me how much of a genius she was for adding the infernal contraption. I would never admit to her that she’d been right.

“Cam, can you run down the road, we’re running low on milk.” She called out as there was a lull in people actually paying for stuff rather than just drinking our coffee. I pulled a couple of quid out of the till and walked out, instantly wishing I’d grabbed a jacket. November was seriously making its presence known, and a short sleeved shirt just didn’t cut it. I shivered quietly as I strode down the street  trying not to think about the cold as I ducked into the corner shop, greeting the owner and grabbing a couple of milk bottles, hurrying back once I had the change in a slightly weird half-jog that did nothing to keep me warm, and everything to make me look stupid.

"I've got a skimmed and a semi!" I called out to Christie, dumping the bags down on the counter.

"If you've got a semi I'd love to know where you're hiding it," a familiar voice called out, and I felt the blush rise from my chest as I turned to look at him. Shit.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I flipped my thin grey tie over my shoulder and walked passed him and his smirk to give the milk to Christie before running the receipt through the till.

“Well… yeah.” He grinned his trademark wide smile, making my knees liquefy. Zachary Levi was a danger to my health. Why did he have to walk into my shop?

“Hey buddy. She doesn’t show her semi to just anyone, not before at least half a bottle of Jameson’s anyway.” I wanted to kill my best friend. Strangling her with her own tie seemed like a great idea. I looked at the tall actor, trying to keep the flush to my cheeks at bay.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I watched him pay Christie for a large coffee and fold himself on one of the sofas next to one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen and begin talking to her quietly.

“A warning text would have been a great idea.” I hissed at Christie as she walked past with a tray full of dirty mugs.

“You left your phone on the counter.” I looked down, sure enough, there it was. _Balls._ "And I'm not a fan of unnecessarily using up my text allowance. They came in like a wrecking ball about thirty seconds before you did." Smiling quietly, she glanced over at them again, "I think we should make friends with them, he's really nice and she doesn't seem like a conceited Hollywood bitch."

"Very funny," I grunted, leaning against the counter and folding my arms, "why are they so close anyway?"

"Do you think they like to hang out after hours? You know... Off set?" She giggled, looking all dreamy, "Fandral and Lady Sif in our shop, Cam." Her inner fan girl was rearing her head.

"Get off Asgard, dreamboat." I shoved her sideways, "Loki's not gonna come strutting in anytime soon."

"A girl can dream, Jeff. A girl can dream. You wanna change the discs on the projector or shall I?"

“I’ll do it, your turn to make a cuppa.” I grabbed the Chuck box set from under the till and sauntered over to the DVD player. I had just pressed ‘play all’ on the home menu when I overheard the two Americans chatting about their experiences on the Thor set.

"So you were saying you had a serious problem with that girl?"

"I don't even know which girl it was; all of those damn maidens looked the same. I just felt really awful for yelling. I mean, I know all of their boots were heeled and shit and it's hard enough for me to walk straight without it so I don't know how you manage it half the time, but it was just so gross!"

"Z, honey, it was coffee. I've had people drop a lot worse shit on me than coffee."

"Not on a six layer leather-lined costume, though! I was so not in the mood to dry off and I was all sticky and...ew, Jaimie, I was gross and musty down there all day." I shuddered at the thought. Couldn’t have been pleasant having wet trousers in November.

“Eeee. Set gossip.” Christie whispered in my ear. “Did you see this happen?”

“See it happen?” Jaimie and her beautiful face looked over at us. Christie’s whispering skills obviously left a lot to be desired. “How would you see it happen?” I could feel the burning in my face and I seriously wanted a freak storm to blow into my little corner of London and wipe me out.

“Oh, Cam here’s an extra on your film. She plays an Asgardian maiden…” her voice slowed to a pause as she put two and two together and ended up with one hundred and forty. “Cam, did you…” Laughter from the sofa made me want to curl up and die. Not only was the woman beautiful, she was sat to my celeb crush that I had pretty much drowned in his own coffee two days previously.

“Oh honey. Don’t be embarrassed. Those heels you gals wear are killer.” Her southern accent relaxed me, but her words didn’t.

"Honestly, I'm not embarrassed about it.” I glanced at Christie, "More embarrassed about the dressing down your boy gave me." I nodded at Zac and strutted off. As I did so, I heard the dulcet tones of the Southern States of America chiming from the sofa.

"Zachary! Were you rude?"

"I didn't mean to be. It was early and I was tired and... I just couldn't be dealing with it, you know? Like it wasn't in my plan for the day and you know what I get like when my plans get thrown."

"Yeah, Z. But she doesn't. You probably ruined it for her!"

"No, no I didn't. I didn't, did I?" _Shit_ now I felt bad for making him think he’d ruined my day or something. I turned to walk back over to them to reassure him, but found he was stood directly behind me.

“Jesus, are you trained in covert espionage or something?” I stepped back in shock. I hadn’t heard him approaching.

“Uh… kinda.” He pointed to the screen on which Chuck was hanging off a glass lift in his boxers. It would be _that_ episode.

“Very fucking funny.” I mumbled my favourite quote under my breath - _I feel like a daffodil_ \- as I walked past him to deal with people waiting to pay, attempting to calm myself down.

“Did you just grumble a Chuck quote at me?” His voice was incredulous? Christie came up behind him, glanced at the screen and rolled her eyes at me.

“The daffodil line? It’s her favourite. She does a bloody good impression of Dominic when he says it.” I wanted to yell at her to shut up.

“Let’s hear it then.” he smirked and I cringed, shifting from foot to foot.

"Come on, Cam. You do this in your sleep." She looked at Zachary, "she does, you know. We have movie marathons and when she falls asleep on the sofa she starts muttering all the lines from your damn series. It's kinda weird." She hesitated, "but still pretty cool. The only movie I can do that with is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." I glared at her. “Oh, and Steel Magnolias.”

Just to shut her up - I could practically see her lifting her hands to attempt an occult sacrifice on Zachary - I started my impression. In fact, I blew all other impressions out of the water.

“That is quite possibly the best impression I’ve heard of Dom. Do it again, it’s uncanny.”

“What am I, a performing seal?” I crossed my arms in a huff under my breasts, causing both him and Christie to flick their eyes down.

“No, you’re a weirdly cute half of Jeffster, but I want to video it to send to Dom. This will rock his socks.” He took in my outfit, dodgy half bald wig included. Any comment from his luscious lips, I was ragging on the dye job.

“Nu uh. No way!” I shook my head like crazy.

“Oh go on, please. I’m not above getting on my knees and begging.” Christie actually yelped at that statement.

“Beg all you want, it’s not happening. Now if you excuse me, I have a business to run.”  I walked out onto the shop floor to speak with one of the regular Trekkies who was on the hunt for DVDs he was looking to replace after a house fire.

“Hey, don’t worry big guy. I have it on video, I’ll tweet it to you.” I was going to be down a business partner if she carried on. They’d find her body hanging from a lamppost and I would be nowhere to be found. I could open a comic store in Aruba. It would be awesome, and warm.

As I slipped away from my fantasies, I saw Christie furiously typing away on her phone. A moment later, Zachary had his own phone in front of his face and was merrily playing the video over and over. I was going to cut a bitch, in fact, I thought about picking up a replica weapon and hacking off her limbs as I went, but moments later, Zachary was chuckling and patting her on the back.

"Thanks. Hey, Cam, this is so cool!!! Have you thought about acting as a career?" He called over, giggling like a schoolboy. “What’s Cam short for anyway, Camilla?” I grimaced.

“Acting is not my forte, and it’s Camryn.” His brown eyes met mine, crinkled at the corners.

“Why go into being an extra then?” He seemed genuinely interested. He even grabbed one of the chairs from the coffee area and sat on it back to front. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Christie chatting to Jaimie.

“Well, it’s being filmed in the area and I’m a big nerd, so why not? I mean, I co-own a comic book shop, I’d be crazy to not take the opportunity to appear in a Marvel film, a Whedon Marvel film.”

“You guys own this place? That’s awesome.” I felt a little smug at impressing him. I knew we were more than cool, having our own place and our own customer fan base but here was a Hollywood actor staring me in the face and calling me awesome. If he had pet my hair, I probably would have purred.

“Zac, I have to head back. Peter’s going to be calling me.” Zachary looked over at her and nodded. “Well ladies, it’s been a pleasure. Cam, no doubt I’ll see you around next week. Christie, thanks for the tweet, keep in touch. I’ll follow you so I get an alert.” He glanced back at me. “Do you have Twitter by any chance?”

“Yes, she does. It’s @CantonComicCam.” Of course she told him.

“Christie, you are the female embodiment of bloody Morgan Grimes.” Zac laughed as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I ignored it.

“And on that note. I’ll see y’all later.” He helped Jaimie to her feet and the pair of them walked out into the frigid air.

“Jesus Cam. I think you’re well in there chick.” I ignored her.

***

My last day on set was long. It wasn’t exactly tough spending an entire day fawning over Zac, well… Fandril, and getting paid for it. I caught a few of the other girls plotting on how they were going to slip him their numbers, or to try and collar him somewhere and get in a sneaky shag. I pretty much kept myself to myself, standing tall in my costume, doing what I was told until I was allowed to go and have a cigarette break. My cigarettes were my salvation the entire time I was there. As used to walking in heels as I was, the boots I’d been given were at least half a size too small and my feet were in bits. Whenever I could, I wrapped myself in my thick coat escaped off the set, sank to the floor and pulled the boots off to provide myself with some relief.

It was almost three in the afternoon; I’d been working since about seven am and was shattered. I sat on a set of stone steps wiggling my toes chatting to Christie on the phone.

“It’s been so much fun, but I need to get home, have a soak in a searing hot bath, and collapse into bed. I could also do with a rockin’ foot massage too.” I whined to her, the familiar sounds of Canton Comics behind her.

“What time do you need me to pick you up?” I’d left my car outside the shop knowing Christie was making a run to our wholesalers.

“I’ve no idea. I’ll text you when I’m changing out of this costume, by the time I manage to get it off, you’ll be here.” I lit a second cigarette and glanced around to make sure no one was calling for me to go back to work. A tall and gorgeous form I recognised was headed in my direction. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll speak to you later.” I tried to pretend as if I hadn’t seen him whilst I continued to wiggle my sore toes in the cold air.

“I heard something very interesting just five minutes ago.” He didn’t even bother with any kind of salutation. “Also… get what off?”

“Good for you.” I looked up at him, the costume not helping me to not imagine doing rude things to him. “Private conversation by the way.”

“Eh, your voice carries. Anyway, apparently a good friend of mine believes he’s insulted you.” I stared at him, having absolutely no clue as to what he was blathering about. “I can tell by the look on your face you are utterly clueless, good. I’ll let Tom know that him thinking you were gay hasn’t bothered you.” I groaned, sinking my head into my hands. “Wait… have I just offended you by calling you straight?”

“Jesus Christ. Do I need to wear a label with my name, height, blood type and who I like to bang on it round here?” 

“Uh… I don’t believe that’s a requirement.” I couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

“I’m sorry. I’m bitchy because my feet hurt. Let me clarify. I am straight, but being asked if I’m gay, bi, whatever does not offend me. Why would it? Anyway, that’s it. I apologise.” His responding smile lit up his entire face as he fumbled in his pocket for his own cigarettes. Seeing him in full Fandril get up, yet wearing what looked like a duffle coat was a bit mind boggling.

“No need, honestly. Any woman who owns her own comic book store doesn’t ever need to apologise for anything.” I rolled my eyes. 

“Only a nerd would say something like that.” I heard my name being yelled. I stubbed out my cigarette and began to pull on my boots.

“Hey, before you go. We’re having a wrap party for the extras tonight. Are you going?”

"Yeah, sure, I guess so? I mean it's something to celebrate but I'd feel guilty leaving Christie to run the shop again. It's our day off tomorrow and she's been working so hard… I’m even missing Chuck Saturday to be here." Secretly I was glad for once, Christie had managed to find me a replica Sarah’s Valentine’s day outfit, wings and all, to wear. 

"So have you! You must be exhausted. And hey, one more evening won't hurt, right?" I shrugged and he sat down beside me, taking my phone out of my hands and waving it in front of me. "All it takes is one little text, 'going to the wrap party, no need for a lift!' And you're off the hook..." He grinned at me and shook the phone again, "come onnnnn?"

"Fine!" I laughed and he fist pumped happily.

"Woo! Finally, another nerd at one of these things!" I shook my head, chuckling as I dashed off a text to Christie. She'd be fine.  I walked as I typed, feeling his eyes on my back. “Hey… why don’t you invite her along? The both of you can have a night off.” I waved without turning round. Why hadn’t I thought of that? _Don’t drive. Dress up, bring me nice clothes. We’re partying tonight x_

 ***

Christie was hovering outside the gate when I emerged after removing my costume for the final time. I’d kept the hair because I liked it, but the makeup had come off. I ran over to her, my feet rejoicing at the feel of my flat biker boots.

“Hey, you look great.” I made her twirl for me, her short black dress paired with thick tights and a leather jacket stood out against her pale skin. “What d’you bring me?” She handed me a bag with a grin. Leading her back to the wardrobe trailer, I rummaged through the bag to find black skinny jeans and my grey Nerd HQ vest top. “Seriously?” I looked at her.

“It was the first one I grabbed. Honest.” Yeah, I didn’t believe her. I was glad I had a blazer with me that would add a little something to the outfit. I managed to change and slap on some make up in the space of ten minutes. I was pretty happy with the result as Christie and I left the trailer to catch up with the other extras in the nearest pub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget, we're also posting over on Tumblr - along with pretty pictures!  
> http://whedonwednesdays.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for reading ... we don't know any of the recognisable characters included in this story.

**_Chapter Three_ **

  


**_Christie-_ **

 

I tried to keep my head down as Cam pulled me into the pub. The place was packed out - tiny in the first place, but with so many extras from the set making their way in along with the ‘real talent’, I had no idea where everyone was going to fit. I wasn’t part of this group, and didn’t know anyone. Nervous because of the last minute invitation, I took in the room at large and settled back to people watch. I may not have been totally comfortable being here, but I was confident enough in my own skin to be Judgy McJudgerson for one night.  


"You want a drink?" Cam spoke directly into my ear.  


"Rum and coke, please. I'll buy next round?"  


"It's an open bar, honey!" Zachary's voice slipped through the air like honey and I jolted. He was right behind me.  


"Fuck, man, you really are trained in covert ops! Stop sneaking around!"  


"It's the Chucks." He indicated his shoes. "Make it easy for me to surprise beautiful women."  


"Flirt." Cam snorted besides me, not joining in with the conversation. "She'll have a Jameson's on the rocks. Mine's rum and coke. Thanks honey." I smiled sweetly as I rattled off our drinks order. He raised one eyebrow without saying a word, before melting into the crowd towards the bar.  


"That was mean." Cam laughed, watching his retreating back.  


"As if. Look chick, I think that fella would do pretty much anything for you, make the most of the attention before he goes back off to the States."  


" _You're_ the one he called beautiful.” Typical of Cam to shrug off any mention of a man being interested in her. “, and I'll be back in a minute, need the loo."  


"Okay, sure," I smiled and let her go, settling myself in the corner of the room and keeping an eye on Zachary and his struggle to carry all three of our drinks at once. _Beautiful? Me. To that movie star?_ I sincerely doubted that. Having been working in the store for hours on end this week, I was tired, looked it no doubt, and still half confused as to how I'd got here. It all felt a bit surreal, mingling with movie stars and extras. Cam was the only grounding factor, and I was pretty sure she was about to be accosted by Zachary, swept off her feet and then God only knew what was going to happen.  


In fact, Cam was accosted far faster than I expected. He caught her on her way back over, pressed her drink into her hand and pointed her in the direction of Jaimie and Idris Elba.  I couldn't help but feel a little jealous as I watched him pass my drink over to Idris. Yep. Zac was way into Cam.  


I was just considering leaving; stone cold sober, when I was tapped on the shoulder. I spun round to see a vaguely familiar face.  


"Can I help you?"  


"Christie Holmes. It's me, Bethany Richter from school." I racked my brain, delving into the deepest, darkest recess. I couldn't place the name or work out why I felt I knew the face, and I kept my smile cool and serene, "head girl?" Oh, okay. I remembered her now. I also remembered the way she used to make my life an absolute hell. I remembered hair being pulled, comics grabbed out of my hands, and more.  


"Oh! Yes, Beth. How are you?" I tried to smile, but barely managed to hold back the eye roll.  


"I'm really well, thank you! You've totally changed! I love your hair, and my God, those cheekbones!" Her eyes scanned my face in scrutiny, as if trying to find something to criticise, before moving down my entire figure. I felt violated.  


"Uh, thank you."  


"Did you finally ditch the comic books and turn cool? Who are you here with? I saw Zachary over here a minute ago? Was he talking to you?" Of course she’d spot the gorgeous one. I wondered why she was here.  


"Uh, actually, I didn’t, still a comic geek. I did grow up though." She looked a bit confused, "puberty was kind to me it seems. I'm here with my business partner who was an extra in the film...” God that felt good. Usually, I hated people who bragged in that way, but Bethany had always managed to get me to bite back in school, obviously that hadn’t changed.  


“Oh, that’s great.” I _really_ didn’t want to ask why she was here. “My husband’s one of the grips, so I’ve been on set a few times.” Looked like I didn’t need to. Looking back, she was always forthcoming with information no one really wanted.  


“That’s nice.” I scanned the pub and caught Cam’s eyes, signalling for her to rescue. Thankfully, she understood my silent screams for help and excused herself to Zac and walked over to me.  


“Sorry Chris, kinda got distracted.” She winked. “I also rescued your drink, it’s untouched, but the ice melted. Soz chick.” I gratefully took the cold glass out of her hand and took a long drink from it.  


“It’s fine.”  


“Are you making friends?” Cam indicated Beth, taking in the bad dye job and trashy shoes that matched the dress that was obviously a size too small.  


“Oh, we’ve been friends for years, haven’t we Christie?” Beth held out her hand for Can to shake, which was ignored. “I’m Bethany and went to school with Christie here.”  


“Oh wonderful, but I really need to steal her away from you.” My arm was grabbed and I nearly lost my balance as I was dragged through the crowd out into the beer garden where my rescuer and best friend lit a cigarette. “Who was the walking scummy dye job?” I cackled as I took the lighter from her and lit one of my own smokes. I ignored her screwed up face at my pack of menthols.

“Head girl from school. Hated on the comics and me in general.”  


“Hated on the comics? Lemme at her…” This was why I loved Camryn Croft. Always had my back and had an unnatural ability to know exactly what to say. The love of comics and flailing over TV shows helped too.  


“Idiot. So… being introduced to the stars eh?” I elbowed her in the ribs gently, knowing she’d blush. I wasn’t let down.  


“Shut up. I’m sure all the extras will get a bit of face time with them throughout the course of the night.”

 

“Yeah, okay love.” I knew her eyes were peering through the door, looking for a tall Californian. I really wasn’t feeling in the mood to party, especially if Bethany Richter was at the same shindig, but I couldn’t think of a way to bail without having Cam come with me. “You’re really not enjoying this are you?”  


“Of course I am. We’ve only been here for about ten minutes.”  


“I’m guessing by the look on your face, that’s ten minutes too long.”  


“There’s no such thing as ‘too long’... unless you’re not talking about what I think you’re talking about.” There’s Zac again, creeping.  


“Jesus Christ man! I’m gonna buy you a fucking bell so people hear you coming.” I swirled round to face him.  


“Whoa, I think people wouldn’t _really_ want to know _that_ much about me.” He handed the both of us another drink. He’d actually remembered our order.  


“One track mind much?”  


“I’m a man. We can’t think about more than one thing at a time whilst drinking.” He held up his own glass in a silent toast before knocking half of it back.  


“Well, at least you accept your short comings.” He didn’t even bother biting, simply raising an eyebrow, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Fuck off!” Camryn burst out laughing.  


“You two should a stand up show. I’d pay to watch this.” I looked at Cam. She’d been watching us with a wide smile on her face.  


“You’d never have to pay me honey.” Zac slung his arm over her shoulder.  


“Oh… you charge now do you?” I couldn’t resist.  


“Oh darlin’… you have _no idea!_ Sometimes, I should charge myself, I am _that_ good.” Cam managed to hide her gasp with a cough, but I knew exactly what was coursing through her head.  


“Wow, you think a lot of yourself. That never comes across on the interviews Cam watches on YouTube.” _Oh shit!_ I was a dead woman. She was glaring at me, daggers in her eyes as Zac turned to look at her, an inquisitive grin on his face.  


“Oh… really?” Maybe I could make my escape while she managed to get herself out of the mess I’d gotten her into. I discreetly took a step backwards, trying to make a break for it, but Cam’s hand wrapped itself around my arm just as my heel made contact with a foot behind me.  


“Fuck! I’m so sorry.” I spun around and lost all ability to form words due to the fact that my brain had turned to liquid in my head.  


“It’s fine, honest.” I could tell by the grimace on his face that Tom Hiddleston was a bad liar, regardless of how good an actor he was. I wanted to rewind an hour and a half so I could get out of agreeing to attend the party.  


“Tom, my man. It’s about time you showed.” Zac clapped the British man on the shoulder.  


“Sorry, it takes forever to get out of that bloody costume.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he withdrew a tobacco tin out of his pocket and proceeded to roll himself a cigarette. What had my life become right now?  


“Christie, come with me to the loo please.” Camryn jolted me out of my staring.  


“Why do women do that?” Tom Hiddleston was talking to us…  


“Best place to talk about boys.” Cam actually winked at him and Zac before dragging me away. I glanced back quickly to see the American watching us… well, watching the tall blonde at my side.  


As soon as we were alone, I began to hyperventilate. Cam dragged me into the disabled stall and shook my shoulders.  


“Calm down Chris. You look like you’re about to pass out.” She wasn’t wrong.  


“I nearly broke Loki’s foot. I crushed it under my heel.” I wailed as I looked down at my shoes. They used to be my favourites, but now I looked at them with despair.  


“Chris… it was an accident. He’s not going to make you take them off and chuck em. Just chill, have a drink and enjoy yourself.”  


“Easy for you to say. You’ve got Zachary Levi hanging off your every word.”  


“Really? Last time I checked, you and he were dominating the conversation with your back and forth that was pretty much brilliant. You are wonderful and worry too much. Let the real you shine and people will love you as much as I do.” I was pulled into her arms. I took a deep breath and stepped back.  


“Let’s do this.”  


***

 

After Cam’s pep talk, I felt ready to head back out and face everything head on. I walked tall, well, as tall as I could at five feet two inches and went back outside to find my drink, my best friend at my side. Zac and Tom were still there, but were in conversation with a group of other people, so Cam and I rescued our drinks and moved back into the warm pub.  


Time passed slowly as I watched Cam chat to fellow extras and crew, always trying to include me, but it never quite worked. We’d been stood by the bar for about an hour when I decided that I’d had enough.  


“Cam, I’m gonna head home. I’m shattered babe.”  


“Let me grab my coat, walk back with you.” I put my hand on her arm.  


“No, you stay. You’ve earned this night. I’ll text you when I get in.” I pulled her into a hug. “I want the full details about you and Zac tomorrow.” I whispered in her ear.  


“There is no me and Zac.” I shook my head.  


“Yeah, that’s why he’s making a complete beeline for you.” I kissed her cheek and disappeared into the crowd before she could stop me.

 

*******

 

I felt bad for leaving Cam, but she’d be fine. We were lucky that the filming was happening only fifteen minutes from home. It wasn’t too late, and I knew I’d be fine walking back alone. If I was honest with myself, I could do with the time alone to relax. The past couple of weeks had been mental. I didn’t begrudge Cam working on the film, but I was shattered from holding the fort at the shop. Maybe I needed to rethink the idea of employing someone to help us out. Naturally, it had to be someone we both trusted, and also someone who wasn’t averse to dressing up.  


I had only reached the end of the road when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone running behind me. I stopped and rooted in my bag for my cigarettes to let them pass me by, but they slowed and came to a stop next to me.  


“Are you leaving?” Yes, that was Tom bloody Hiddleston’s voice; I turned to face him, dropping my lighter in the process, which, of course, he bent to retrieve for me.  


“Yeah, I’m a bit worn out after a long couple of weeks at work.”  


“You run the comic book shop that Zac found, am I right?” How in the world would he even know who I am? “With your friend who was an extra?”  


“Uh… yes, I do.” I lit a smoke, unsure what to do with myself. I mean, not twenty minutes previously, I had crushed this man’s foot with a three inch stiletto heel.  


“He was very excited by the find. I’m sure you can expect to see more of him over the next few months.” I’m sure it just wasn’t our merchandise he was interested in. “I’m quite sure you’re right.” _Crap. Did I say that out loud?_ “I do believe he’s quite taken with your friend.”  


“I’m sure he is, and so he should be, she’s a catch.” Cam so owed me more than one for this.  


“Look, I wanted to make sure you weren’t leaving because of my foot. I assure you that I’m completely uninjured.”  


“As mortified as I am about that, I’m not leaving because of that.” Not solely anyway. “I really am exhausted.” A look of relief flashed across Tom’s face.  


“Have you ordered a cab?” He looked down the street as if to check a car was coming.  


“No, I’m walking. It’s not far.” I finally got a cigarette lit with trembling hands. It really was too cold to be standing here, never mind the effect this man was having on me.  


“Wait here.” Without another word, he ran back towards the pub. I shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what to do. Just as I made the choice to continue walking, I saw him running back to me, pulling on a scarf and heavy coat. “Right, let’s go.”  


“Go where?”  


“I’m walking you home. There’s no way on earth I’d let a young lady such as yourself walk home alone. It’s not in my nature… plus my mother would kill me.” I had no choice but to walk alongside him.  


I had never felt more uncomfortable and unsure of myself as I did whilst we walked along the quiet London streets. I always managed to find something to say, but walking along the road alongside Tom Hiddleston of all people had rendered me mute and had turned my brain to mush. I also struggled to look up at him. I liked my men tall, but at 6, 2,”, I was an entire foot shorter. Thank Christ I never wore anything lower than a three inch heel.  


“What’s got you so quiet darling?” He murmured as we waited at a crossing. “I promise, I don’t bite.”  


“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just … you’re very tall.”  


“Oh?” He looked confused. “I’m afraid I can’t shrink myself down, so sorry.”  


“No, no… That’s not what I meant. I guess I meant… I just had an idea of you in my head and I… I dunno.” I wanted to kick myself for not thinking sentences out more clearly before verbalising them.  


“An idea of me?”

 

“Mr Hiddleston, I don’t know anything about you. I know what the media says I should know, and all the online bios of you, but that’s all. A girl gets ideas from time to time, and it’s a surprise when the real thing is trapped underneath your stiletto heel.”  


“So… So, you’re a fan?” He suddenly looked at me as if I were about to drag him back to my lair and ravish him. _Chance would be a fine thing._  


“I know your work, yes, and I happen to think you’re attractive, but please don’t think I’m insane. I run a comic book shop. If I didn’t know who you were, I’d be stripped of my nerd credentials.” His shoulders slumped a little as he relaxed visibly. I smiled at him in the hope he’d believe me.  


“You and… Cam is it?” I nodded. “You both run that shop wonderfully I’m told.”  


“Thank you. You should come in and browse, if you fancy it.” I turned onto our road. “It may be run by women, but we know our shit.”  


“I never said you didn’t.” He chuckled as we strode past the independent bookshop, the tiny cafe and the corner shop, “I won’t lie though. I’m curious as to your superhero origin story.”  


“It’s not too different to the real thing I guess. Only child, bullied at school, went to uni, met my sidekick at a convention, found out we were t same said uni. After many a drunken night comparing interests and passions, we started one business that got our hearts racing and kept them so, even five years later.”  


“I have to say, I’m impressed. So many people never follow their dreams, happy to complain about their humdrum lives and jobs, yet you and your friend are doing exactly what you want and I can see that the love you have for it shining in your pretty eyes.” _Uh… what?_  


“Well, this is me.” I stopped outside the shuttered shop, the graffiti style sign that Cam’s brother had made for us, appearing grey in the dark. “And yes, we do love it. I don’t think we could spend as much time together if we didn’t.” He stood back and took in the small shop front. “Thank you for walking me home, it really was unnecessary.”  


“It was an honour and a pleasure.” He took my hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on the back of my knuckles which made my stomach flutter. “And, I may well take you up on the offer of looking round. Maybe I could buy a mini me.” Always the lady, I snorted at the image of him clutching a small Loki.  


“You’re welcome any time, except Sundays, that’s our day off.” I shuffled my feet a little. “I best get inside so you can go back to the party. Thanks again for making sure I got home okay.”  


“Oh, I’m not going back. I’m heading home to have an early night. Well… maybe not so early.” He glanced down at his watch. “Take care and sleep well.” I pulled my keys out of my bag and unlocked the front door. Just before I closed it behind me, I stuck my head out to watch him walking down the street, the way we came.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is also being posted over on Tumblr....  
> http://whedonwednesdays.tumblr.com/cantoncomicsstory
> 
> Cam now has a 'real' twitter account if you fancy following her.  
> @CantonComicCam


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, we can't thank you enough for reading. This entire story started out as a bit of a joke on WHats App, but has evolved into so much fun for the both of us!
> 
> Once again, we do not know any of the recognisable characters portrayed in this story.

**_Chapter Four_ **   


**_Christie POV_ **   


I rubbed my eyes as the light streamed into the bedroom. I’d stupidly left the curtains open and I could see bright winter sunshine glimmering off the windows opposite mine. Someone was banging on the front door. An absolute arsehole had woken me up by banging on my front door at an ungodly hour on my only day off. Didn’t they understand I was exhausted?  


“Cam! There’s someone at the door!” I yelled, not moving from under the warm duvet. Naturally, there was no answer. She probable hadn’t even come back last night; in fact, it was probably her hammering seven shades of shit out of the door... Sighing, resigned to the lack of a lie in, I clambered out of bed, shoved my feet into my trainers and walked down to answer the door. I fumbled with the lock and pulled the door wide open.  


“So sorry to turn up like this, but I’m looking for a tall American, goes by the name of Zac. Is he here?” I was standing in front of Tom Hiddleston wearing nothing but a t shirt and panties. Standard.  


“I don’t even think Cam’s here, so I doubt Zac’s here.” I tried to cover myself up, the icy air making me shiver.  


“I’m positive they said they were coming here to watch a DVD. Do you mind checking for me?” My teeth began to chatter. “Oh god, you must be freezing.” he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.  


“Come on up.” I began to lead him upstairs to the flat, fully aware that he had an eyeful of my arse. “Let me just go, er … cover up.”  


“Of course. Take your time.” For someone who was hammering on the door so early, looking for his friend, he was suddenly in no hurry. I grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on to cover my bare legs and put my ‘Arthur Dent’ dressing gown on. On the way back into the front room, where I’d left one of the UKs most well known men, I stuck my head into Cam’s bedroom. Yep, a bed that hadn’t been slept in. The dirty little cow hadn’t come home. I ran back into my room to grab my phone, visions of Cam and Zachary Levi spending the entire night inventing new sexual positions in his hotel room. No texts or missed calls.  


“Sorry it took me so long. Neither of them are here. Did you check Zac’s hotel?” I led Tom into the kitchen. Tom Hiddleston was in my kitchen. “Tea?”  


“Please, and yes. It’s the first place I went when he didn’t answer any of my calls or text messages.” I pulled two Avengers mugs out of the cupboard. “No sugar with a dash of milk please.”  


“I have no idea where they could be then. I’m sorry. Is it important that you get hold of him?” I handed him the steaming drink.  


“Thank you. Not important, but I wanted to let him know that we’re not needed on set today as the crew are repairing some of the sets that have started to break up a bit too much.”  


“You know, you could have just told him in a text, he would have gotten the message eventually.” I didn’t know what to do with myself. The kitchen might have been fairly long, but it was very narrow so there wasn’t any way I could put more space between us without being obvious about it.  


“I know, but I wanted to take him sightseeing. It’s something he’s been wanting to do since he arrived, but we haven’t had the chance. I thought I’d come and drag him out of your friend’s bed and get an early start.” I laughed.  


“So, you see it too then?” I couldn’t wait to give Cam my ‘I told you so’ look when she crawled home.  


“The attraction between your friend and Zac. A bloody blind man could see it.” His smile really was quite beautiful in the flesh. "Then again, Zachary hasn’t particularly hidden the way he looks at Cam.”  


“I’ve known that girl for a long time now, for as long as I can remember, she has always been on the receiving end of many a lustful gaze, but never knew how to deal with it. I’m pretty impressed at how fast this thing with Mr Levi has moved.”  


“Maybe they’re making the most of it before he has to fly back to the States.” I hadn’t considered that.  


“You might be right.”  


“I guess I best continue on my quest… or just go home and catch up with domestic crap there.” Tom rinsed his empty mug under the hot tap and placed it upside down on the draining board. “Sorry again for disturbing you on a Sunday. I remember you saying it was your only day off.”  


“It’s fine. I guess I’d better catch up on the paperwork now that I’m up.” I was impressed he’d remembered part of our conversation from the previous evening. “Actually, seeing as you’re here, would you like a tour round the shop?”  


“Only if it’s no bother.” His grin lit up his entire face and made his blue eyes shine brightly.  


“I doubt you’d ever be a bother to someone.”  


“I’ll be sure to tell my mother that.” My inner fan girl cooed at the easy and affectionate way he mentioned his mother.  


“Come on, I’ll take you down.” I picked up my set of shop keys from on top of the microwave and once again led the way, this time down a set of stairs hidden at the back of the building.  


“Oh, this is handy. No need to go outside when you finish work.” I may not have been completely awake, yet my mind was reeling from the fact that I was showing Tom Hiddleston around my home and place of business. As much as I was enjoying myself, I couldn’t wait for him to leave so I could run around the flat in full on flail mode.  


“We quite like it.” I unlocked the door at the bottom of the stairs which led into the small kitchen area at the back of the shop. “Go on through while I switch the alarm off.” I watched him retreat for a moment before going into the office. To my surprise, the alarm was bleeping. I was positive that I’d set it before going to meet Cam last night.  


“Christie. I think you need to come through.” Tom stuck his head round the door of the office. _Shit, have we been robbed?_ I rushed to his side and stopped dead and clapped my hands over my mouth.  


“That is so fucking typical. Here I was, all excited that she was getting her end away, but no. They fall asleep watching Tron of all films.” The home menu screen was still going whilst my best friend and her celebrity crush were curled up on one of the sofas, legs tangled up, his arms wrapped around her waist, and both of them covered only by their coats.  


“Maybe they…” Tom trailed off as the pair began to stir. I could tell, just by looking at Cam’s face that she would be hanging for the entire day.  


“Wha you doing here?” She croaked, trying to sit up, but was trapped by Zac’s arms tightening in his sleep.  


“Uhm… I could ask you the same question.” Cam pulled herself out of Zac’s arms and stood.  


“Come back.” he mumbled in his sleep before rolling over and squashing his face against the back cushions.  


“I’ll… er… I’ll just be over here.” Tom coughed to try and hide his laughter as he walked through the shop over to the figurines. No words were needed when I raised an eyebrow at my best friend causing her to shuffle on her feet uncomfortably.  


“Yeah, I should have let you know where I was.” The sheepish look on her face made me burst out laughing which woke Zac up, causing him to sit bolt upright on the sofa behind Cam.  


“Fuck, I’m late for work.” He jumped to his feet which made me realise he didn’t have his jeans on. I turned my bitch brow back to Cam who blushed.  


“Calm down mate, no you’re not.” Tom came rushing over. Cam threw my bitch brow back in my face. “There’s a problem with the sets that need repairing so we have the day off.” I turned away as Zac pulled his jeans on, flexing his rather impressive thigh muscles. “I woke poor Christie here up, banging…” Cam nearly choked. “On the front door of the flat, trying to find you.”   


“Oh… Why did you come here?”I folded myself on the empty sofa whilst Zac and Cam sat back down, his arm naturally wrapping around her shoulders. Tom remained standing, leaning against the counter behind him.  


“I went to your hotel first, but you weren’t there, obviously. I still don’t understand why you won’t stay with me. I remember hearing you two discussing the merits of Tron and decide to leave to go and watch it when I popped back into the party after I walked Christie home.” Cam’s eyes flicked to mine. I shook my head, the movement minute.”So naturally, this was the second place I would look.”  


“Why didn’t you just text me man?”  


“That’s what I said.”I smiled at Tom as he rolled his eyes. “Well, now that the mystery’s over with, does anyone mind if I excuse myself to make myself breakfast?”  


“Go ahead.” Tom stood up straight as I got to my feet, which I just realised where bare after having forgotten to put my trainers back on.

 

“Hey, why don’t you guys join us? We make a mean fry up.” Cam spoke up. I watched the two men look at each other, having some sort of weird silent conversation.  


“That would be great, thanks.” Zac stood to his full height and stretched. I caught Can eyeing the sliver of skin that appeared above the waistband of his jeans. I had questions stockpiling for when were alone.

  
I spent the next twenty minutes carefully keeping my eyes trained on the frying pan in front of me. I didn’t even want the fry-up that had been Cam’s idea, mostly because she was hungover and she knew I could take it away with my magical herbs and spices.   


“Christie?” Someone had said my name, and, as I turned around to face the culprit, I was met with Zac holding up one of my jars of tea. “What’re these?”   


“Fandom teas,” I said quietly, unsure of why this should be making me blush. He was holding up a combination of mint teas that I had spent a few hours blending to get the right ‘Loki’ zing. In my cupboards - and at that moment I was indebted to Cam for insisting that only the ones I drank frequently were allowed out on the counter - there was a range through the various fandoms. Even a _Chuck_ one that I had, quite misguidedly attempted to blend. Trying to find the right combination of teas for a reluctant superspy… it didn’t go well.   


“What are they?”   


“They’re teas based on characters, Zac.” Tom supplied happily as he took the jar from Zac’s hands   


“They’re her nerd teas.” Cam piped up, never missing the opportunity to take the piss.

 

“Shut up.” I watched Tom place the jar back on the counter. “You’re just jealous of my epic Britishness.”

 

“Sure.” She actually stuck her tongue out at me. Rolling my eyes, I returned my focus back to cooking, trying my damndest to will the floor to open up beneath me. I was pretty sure I was mumbling ‘somebody help Will Graham’ under my breath by the time I felt a large hand come down gently on my shoulder.

 

“I like the ‘nerd tea’, it looks like fun. Maybe I can try some one day.” If I was hearing correctly, Tom was insinuating seeing me on another day. A day that was different from today. To try my tea. Did I want to share my tea? It was special tea and very dear to me.

 

“Christie… you’re spiralling.” Cam cut into my thoughts; her words cause Zac to look at both of us. It was obvious he knew what those particular words meant, but would he let on that he knew. Did he know that I knew that he knew. _Damnit!_  


“Sorry, lost in my thoughts.” I looked away from my friend and the two ridiculously good looking, and tall, men and back at the cooker. Everything was pretty much done except eggs. Cam was the master at fried eggs, so I handed the reigns over whilst I busied myself with plates and cutlery.  


***

  
“Go and sit down, we insist.” Tom pushed Cam and I back into our seats as they cleared the table. “You cooked us a wonderful breakfast, the least we could do is clean up as a thank you.” I was gobsmacked. No man I had ever known had ever volunteered to clean without a prompt or prod.

  
“Can I keep him?”I whispered to Cam once they were out of earshot. “He cleans… without being nagged.”

  
“I don’t think he’ll be going very far. Zac said that from the moment you crushed his toe, he was intrigued by you.”

  
“Shut up, he did not. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of Zac. A, why was he without out trousers whilst sleeping? And b, he was hugging you rather tight on that sofa. Wouldn’t your bed have been more comfortable?” I waggled my eyebrows at her.

  
“Fuck off. Nothing happened… I spilt a drink on his jeans, so he took them off to dry.” There was a very shifty look in my best friend’s hazel eyes, and I didn’t like it.

  
“I have to say, I don’t fucking believe you.”

  
“Don’t believe her about what?” Of course the man in question would walk into the living room at that precise moment and overhear that precise statement.

  
“I don’t believe she’d spill a drink on your leg without at least chucking them in the washing machine. Cam might be messy, but she cannot stand things being dirty, and let’s face it. That’s just plain unclean.” He looked a little lost, and a lot confused and I had Cam right where I wanted her.

  
“I took my pants off because they were… wet?” He vocalised the sentence as a question, raising his eyebrows at Cam.

  
“Yeah, and I’m the Queen of Sheba.” I stood up and rolled my eyes. First they joke about Hiddles being intrigued by me, now Cam was straight up lying to me. “Look, I’m gonna do the paperwork. Cam, why don’t you take Pants less McGee and Loki out for the geek tour of London? I’m not really in the mood to see outside right now. I’d just be bad company.”

  
“What?” Tom looked over at me, and I smiled, waving my hand at him.

  
“I’ll be fine. Just hung over, I think.” I refused to meet Cam’s eyes after that. She knew I didn’t suffer like she did, and she’d know that I was telling straight up lies, but I figured that turnabout was fair play. If she could lie to me, then I could lie right back.

  
“Oh… okay.” Cam looked confused and a little hurt, but I couldn’t bring myself to care at the moment. “Let me just get changed.” She spoke to the two confused men leaning up against the wall behind her as she dashed out of the room.

  
“Thank you for breakfast, it was delicious.” Tom spoke up, his voice a little nervous.

  
“Yeah, it was great.” Zac chimed in.

  
“No worries guys. Excuse me, I need to have a shower and head down to the office.” I walked out of the room without waiting for a response.

 

***

  
My bad mood fizzled out the more paperwork and banking I completed. By the time I had pretty much finished, I was more irritated than angry. Leaving the week’s order for Cam to deal with in the morning, I made my way back upstairs to the flat. I’d purposely left my phone in the kitchen, so I wasn’t surprised to see a multitude of texts from Cam asking if I was okay and why I was pissed off with her. I opened the last one that had been sent only ten minutes before. _Chris, please… meet us at the pub for dinner. I hate it when you’re pissed off at me. Cam x_ I started to tap out a reply, but never got to finish it as the phone rang in my hand, Cam’s face grinning at me.

 

“Hello?” I was snappy and not exactly proud of it.

  
“Hi, Christie. It’s Tom.” Yeah, like I wouldn’t recognise that voice. “I’ve rung to implore that you join us for a steak dinner.” had he been informed of my weaknesses for a steak meal? “It would be wonderful if you would, its Zac’s first time.” The snort escaped before I could stop it.

  
“I’m sure it’s not, but as you’ve no doubt been made well aware, steak is my kryptonite. What time shall I meet you?”

  
“Why don’t you get good and ready and we’ll come and get you in about half an hour. Well, I will.” I could practically hear the smile in his voice and it was making me feel all kinds of giddy.

  
“No, I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll meet you in an hour.”

  
“But-”

 

“Drop the gentleman act, Hiddleston. I’m a grown woman and you don’t have to come and get me from places.” I winced, “No, no, don’t listen to that. I’m sorry. I’m still in a bit of a mood. The walk will do me good.”

  


“Okay. Well, if you’re sure, Christie, then that would be absolutely wonderful. I’m looking forward to spending some time with you.”

  
“I’m sure you are.” I pulled a face, realising that, once again, I hadn’t flipped the bitch switch to off, “I’m looking forward to it too. It’ll be nice to watch Zac and Cam making eyes at each other over the table.”

  
“Tell me about it. I’m pretty sure they’ve not taken their eyes off each other all day. You should have seen them at the London Eye. The TARDIS could have ploughed into one of the pods and neither of them would have noticed!”

  
“Believe me, Cam would have noticed the TARDIS, especially if Ten stepped out, but that’s because she’s a big geek.”

  
“I don’t doubt her geek credentials, but those two have given me a cavity. I better end this call and return Cam’s phone to her before she notices it’s missing. I can’t wait for you to join us.”

  
“Wait… she doesn’t know you have it?” If I’d been asked to place bets, I would have gone all in on Cam thrusting her phone at Tom to call me and talk me into joining them.

  
“No, I may… I… I kind of took it out of her jacket pocket when she was distracted by a certain American.” I burst out laughing. “So, we’ll see you in an hour. Do you know which pub?” I assured him that I did, considering Cam and I went there most Sundays.

  
“Of course I do. Save me a seat as far away from the lovebirds as possible?” He laughed, promising that he would and said, once again, that it was going to be a pleasure to see me. I rolled my eyes as I hung up and took a look at the clock. I had forty five minutes before I had to leave, and I had to lose the bad mood. A long shower, a quick rock out to some old tunes and I would be good to go. I was having dinner with Tom Hiddleston (and Cam and Zac - but I doubted they would notice I was there), and I wasn’t going to waste an opportunity.

  
Now, what could I wear?  


***

  
“I’m pretty sure Pool is a universal sport.” Zac stood slowly, unfolding from his chair like a marionette, stretching as though he was about to go three rounds with Muhammad Ali. A little melodramatic, but that was actors for you.

  
“In no way, Zachary is this anything like a sport. But if you’re going to insist on making bets, then I am going to destroy you, in front of your new little girlfriend.” Tom stood, almost as tall as Zachary, on my other side, and for a moment, I knew how the hobbits felt faced with the elves. It was a struggle to resist making a Tolkien quote, but I resisted nonetheless.

  
“Ladies, will you excuse us? We have a wager to make, barter over then settle.” Zac grinned his saccharine sweet smile and tugged on Tom’s arm. “Come on, you could do with losing twenty bucks.”

  
“Twenty pounds.”

  
“Dude, whatever. I know I’ve got a twenty, on a note, in my wallet. I’m game if you are.”

  
“As long as I can spend it somewhere when I win it.” Cam and I watched them saunter over to the pool table where a very serious smack talk session began as Tom arranged the triangle of red and yellow balls.

  
“Those two are, quite frankly, idiots.” Cam observed, not incorrectly.

  
“Says the girl who thinks her best friend can’t tell when she’s lying.” I raised my eyebrows at her.

  
“What?” I smirked, putting on a dumb, valley-girl accent as I blinked at her.

  
“Oh my god! His pants got totally wet when we were sitting there watching Tron.” I raised my eyebrows again, “Christ, Cam, was I born yesterday?” She looked absolutely horror-struck.

  
“You’re mad 'cause I had my hand down his pants, aren’t you?” She blushed, “I’m not easy, Christie. You know I’m not.”

  
“I didn’t say you were, and you know I never would. You fuck who you like, how you like, just like me. But you don’t need to lie about it.” I shook my head. “For god’s sake, Cam. I wouldn’t judge best in show if Crufts paid me to. But when your best mate lies to you, in front of your face. It’s not cool.”

  
“I just… Let me start by saying I did NOT expect it to happen. One minute we were chatting about our favourite films and TV shows, the next we…” The red flush to her skin brightened as she trailed her words, her eyes flickering over to Zac, who was currently doing ‘the snoopy dance’.

  
“Fucking like bunnies?” I asked, struggling to keep the laughter out of my face.

  
“Near enough.” It wasn’t Cam who answered. The fucking silent and sneaky Yank had returned to grab his pint, and had overheard us… again. Cam dipped her head until it hit the table in front of her, a groan escaping.

  
“I really don’t need to hear your sex noises just before I’m about to eat.”

  
“Chris!” Her face was bright red, almost glowing. It was just enough to soothe my bad mood.

  
“To be honest, she’s not wrong, darlin’.” Zac gently pressed his hand between Cam’s shoulder blades in an incredibly sweet gesture. In any other situation, I would have giggled and ‘aww’ed, thinking that it was absolutely adorable. In this instance, however, I was still pretending to be annoyed at Cam and absolutely detesting Zac for his stupid ability to get around the room without making a sound. He made me want to scream, and not in the good way.

  
Trying to get away from the display of affection, I turned instead to face Tom, who was staring at the two of them with an expression of open jealousy and want in his eyes. _I fucking knew it._ It wasn’t me he wanted to get in with. It was Cam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget, we also have a Tumblr where we post pretty pics of Zac and Tom (and some of our favourite fandoms)
> 
> http://whedonwednesdays.tumblr.com/


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again... We don't know any of those recognisable characetrs. 
> 
> Thank you SO much for the Kudos, the wonderful comments, and just reading.

**_Chapter Five:_**  

 **_Zac_**  

Considering I have two sisters, I have never, ever been good at comforting girls that were crying. I had never, ever seen a girl try so hard to hold the tears in. And then I found Christie Holmes crying on the floor of a comic book store, surrounded by everything in the world that should have made her smile. 

*** 

She’d made a really strange noise after she and Cam had seemed to make up, downed the rest of her pint and then stormed out of the pub. For a good five minutes, the three of us had stared at her empty chair, not quite sure what to do. 

“I should go and check on her.” Tom and Cam spoke at the same time, but I had a feeling neither of them would have been welcome. 

“Let me. I could do with a smoke anyway.” I gave Cam a quick kiss on the cheek, handed my cue to Tom, grabbed my coat and left. I lit a smoke and walked in the direction of the comic store, pretty sure that’s where she’d headed. 

I was right, but I was surprised to see the door to the flat was open. I let myself in and let it click shut properly behind me. Just as I was to run upstairs, I heard her in the store. Peering around the door, I spotted her, in a heap on the floor looking totally defeated. 

“Hey, little thing?” I raised a hand, to show I wasn’t going to get any closer, “Need a Kleenex?” Her only response was a sick little sob, as she buried her face in her hands and turned away. “Then you wanna tell me what’s happened?” 

“You-you-you don’t wanna h-h-hear it.” She sniffled, and I nodded, moving away from the doorway to sit on the floor. If she would have turned around, I’d have been in her eye line, but for now, I wouldn’t pressure her. She didn’t need that. 

“Yeah, little thing, I do.” Quickly, I shucked off my coat and put it on the floor beside me, “because I never end a night with a pretty girl crying. I don’t like to make any girls cry, but I hate to see all that skin gone splotchy from tears.” 

“Can you t-t-” She heaved a sob again, “Turn off the flirting at least?”

“Flirting?” I smiled, “Little thing, none of this is a lie. You have lovely skin, and it doesn’t look like you need any kind of foundation, but if you keep crying like that, there’ll be splotches everywhere. And I don’t think that would be conducive to conversation, either.” 

“Maybe I don’t-don’t wanna talk. It’s,” Another sob, “its stupid. You’re gonna think I’m stupid and…” She wiped her face with her cuff. “Shouldn’t you be making sure Tom doesn’t get off with Cam?” 

“I don’t think I know what that means.” The Brits spoke funny. 

“Snog, kiss, frenchie… you know, make out with her.” I burst out laughing. “I’m deadly serious Levi; this is not a laughing matter.”

“Oh, little thing, you are hilarious.” I stood up and took her hands in mine to pull her to her feet. Her head barely reached my chin as I pulled her in for a hug. “Why the hell would Tom want to make out with Cam?” 

“Because… he blatantly fancies her, and he probably sent you here to get you out of the way. Shame she has no attraction to him at all.” 

“Christie… what the hell are you talking about. Tom didn’t send me here. I came to see you were okay after you left the pub all of a sudden.” She pulled out of my arms and began to pace, her bare feet padding on the linoleum floor. 

“But… I saw the way he looked at you two earlier.” I was more confused than ever. It must have shown on my face because she continued talking. “When you were being all sweet and affectionate with Cam, he was channelling the green eyed monster.” 

“Jesus Christ Christie! I’m sorry, I don’t like offending women, but you’re an idiot. The _entire_ time we were out, all he could talk about was you. He even stole Cam’s phone to get you out.” She opened her mouth to protest and I jumped in, before she could dare get the words out, “No, it wasn’t her idea, and it wasn’t mine, either. She shrieked about her phone having disappeared for about twenty minutes until we realised that Tom had it, and then she chewed him out over it. I don’t have a clue what is wrong with you, or what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, but it’s confusing the hell out of a really good friend of mine.” 

“I… I honestly don’t know. I can, hand on heart; say I never usually act like this. I’m so used to being passed over for Cam. I mean, I love the girl, and if I were that way inclined, I totally would, but tonight I just… I guess I kind of lost the plot.” 

“I’ll say, silly mare.” I turned to see Cam leaning against the door frame, a sad smile on her face. “And for the record, if I would too…” I watched as the two women hugged. Admittedly, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was a little disappointed they weren’t making out, but it meant I could keep Cam for myself, for now. Still, later on, I would totally be throwing that option out there. You know. Because it would be hot. 

“Listen, is there, uh, anything I can do?” I ventured after a few minutes of Cam patting Christie on the head and making sure there weren’t any more tears, “Like, do you want me to say something to Tom, or…” 

“I think Christie needs an early night and a day off tomorrow.” Cam said, looking at her friend with a mixture of empathy and guilt, “I’ve put her through the wringer the past couple weeks. She’s not minding the store on her own for so long again.” 

“Yeah, th-that would be good. And just… I don’t know. I mean you can say what you want to Tom, tell him I’m crazy or that he’d probably be better off looking elsewhere. I don’t know. Like, I think I fucked it up bad enough as it is.” She shrugged and slowly made her way up the backstairs to the flat, Cam looking back at me. 

“Think you should go talk to your homeboy?” She said, in quite possibly the most atrocious accent I have ever heard. “He’s probably climbing the walls right now. My girl can drive them wild.” 

“Not as wild as you drive me,” I purred, kissing her forehead as I leaned down to wrap my arms around her. “But yeah, I’ll go talk to him.” I ran my hands through her loose hair, wanting nothing more than to wrap it round my hand, pulling her head back as I had on the sofa behind us the previous night, but I had a friend to placate and calm down. 

“I don’t know what’s got into her; she’s never been the kind of girl to go haywire over a guy.” I pressed my lips to hers; remember what they could do, the memories interfering with coherent thoughts. I forced myself to step back. 

“Ok honey. I’ll leave you to calm her down while I talk Hiddles off the edge.” I wasn’t sure when I’d get a chance to see her again, knowing we had a crazy filming schedule ahead. “Gonna miss you the next couple weeks.” 

“I know. Me too…” She smiled, “Wanna stay here a few nights?” She grinned now, looking up at me, “I’ve got a massive bed and nobody to keep it warm…” 

“Don’t tempt me, madam. I don’t think I could leave the store with a semi.” 

She full on giggled and went to squeeze my ass, so I danced out of her reach pretty swiftly, laughing as I did so, and shaking my head. 

“I gotta go! Go fix your friend, silly thing!” 

“Fine!” She pouted, pulling a face and flipping me off in quick succession. “Call me? I’ll get some good food in and make Christie cook.” 

“Sure! See you later, baby!” And I ran, before she could reel me back in.

 *** 

For someone who was adored by millions, Tom suffered with nerves. Not when it came to going on live TV, or speaking to journalists. No, that was a breeze, but when Christie invited him to the flat for a private dinner to apologise, he couldn’t tell which way was up. 

“Honestly, man, I don’t know if I can do this.” He was on the phone to me, talking as he walked down the road from the tube station. 

“She’s just a girl, Hiddleston. I mean come on. Do you want to practise your gentlemanly side over the phone with me?” I slipped into my valley-girl voice, “ _Oh my god, I like totally chipped a nail! Will you help me, Tom?_ ” 

He laughed. I hoped that was a good thing. Either that or my bro was about to pass out on the front steps of Canton Comics. 

“She’s not like that, Zac. And that’s… I dunno, that’s maybe the problem. I think she’s too cool for me.” At that, I snorted down the line. Too cool for Tom Hiddleston? I didn’t think so. 

“Dude, honestly? You’re like the coolest man on the planet. She might be the only girl who’s half as cool as you. And that’s saying something. Maybe you should keep her. Just don’t get her to watch the Avengers again.”

“Zachary...please stop giving me advice. Why on earth would I watch the Avengers with her? She’d probably get googly eye over Jeremy or Chris…”

“Ah man. You really don’t get it. Well, you are obviously beyond my help.” I hung up on him, rolling my eyes and keeping my head down. He would get it sooner rather than later. Hopefully sooner and hopefully he’d be _getting it_ from her. I chuckled at my own little joke and kicked my feet up onto the hotel bed, alone for the evening. Cam was meeting her parents for dinner, telling them all about me (only the good, I was assured) and so I was left to become Hiddleston’s guardian angel. FYI, the man didn’t know shit about dating, he was used to women fawning over him then chickening out the moment he wanted to take it further. Christie was different. She was fragile, not one to let him get one over on her, or take advantage. 

I expected about a hundred texts from him in the next few hours. He knew I was having to have a dye touch up, yay, and that I was rooting for him and Christie. Yet, nothing came through for the rest of the evening. Not one thing, no neurosis, no messages of panic, no nothing. I felt cheated… and more than a little bored. 

I’d just finished in the shower, rinsing my hair, which felt like straw, I couldn’t understand why women did this on a regular basis, and was chilling on the huge bed when my phone rang. Seeing Cam’s name flashing on the screen, I answered. 

“Hey Cam! How are you doing?” She simply yawned in reply. “That bad huh?” 

“Nah, I’m just exhausted. Any chance I could come crash with you? I don’t think Christie and Hiddleston are done with their date yet, and she could do with some space to work her magic.” 

“I don’t know about crashing but I’m sure we could think of something to occupy our evening. They’ve ruined my hair again, though, which is a great disappointment.” 

“Hey, as long as I still have something to hold on to, then I really don’t care!” She laughed and I heard her pulling her jacket on. “My parents said it would be nice to meet you soon, by the way. They think you sound adorable.” 

“I _am_ adorable.” Her snort made me laugh. “How long until you get here?” I could hear traffic in the background, so I assumed she was already on the way. 

“I’ve just got in a cab; I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” I looked down at the towel… it wasn’t worth getting dressed. 

“‘I'll be waiting.” 

“Without a shirt I hope?” She laughed and I coughed. If only she knew... 

“Trust me; I am way ahead of you.” She giggled again, softer this time, and for a moment I expected her to ask me what else I was wearing. Instead, she simply told me to let her in when she arrived in ten minutes, she couldn’t wait to have a cuddle. We could cuddle… after. 

“While I waited for her to arrive, I moved around the room, picking up dirty clothes and putting crap away. I left the DVDs out and called down to room service for some snacks and some booze. Once I was satisfied with the state of the place, I grabbed my iPod, placed it on the dock and stuck it on shuffle. Weezer’s Buddy Holly, one of my favourites came on just as there was a knock at the door. Unsure if it was Cam or room service, I looked through the peephole. It was Cam. 

I opened the door wearing nothing but a fresh towel and a smile and stood to one side to let her in. As she walked past me, I eyed up every inch of her tall, slender body, clad in the tightest jeans I had ever seen and what looked like a man’s shirt. I wondered for a moment if it belonged to an ex, but realised I wouldn’t care when it was on the floor. She turned to catch me eyeing her ass, which I didn’t even bother to apologise for. 

“Nice outfit.” I felt her gaze travel from my face, down my chest, linger on the towel and back up. 

“I prefer yours. “ She smiled as she spoke, walking towards me. I realised that, although she was tall, she seemed taller. I looked down and a groan escaped from the back of my throat. Her boots were as tight as her jeans and the heel was killer. “Oh… I wasn’t sure if you’d like the boots.” Her smile turned into a wide grin. 

“Er… yeah. They’re… fuck me, they are hot.” I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close, flush against my bare chest. “But, they have to come off.” 

“Oh, really? And why is that?” I took her hair in my fist and gently pulled her head back, exposing her neck. 

“Because, they will definitely get in the way of my plans for the evening.” 

“Plans?” She raised her eyebrows suggestively and I rolled my eyes in response. “What kind of plans are these, then?” 

“Well, I was thinking that we could at least make an attempt to watch a movie? I’ve got three or four here that you might like?” 

“Well,” She mimicked me, raising her eyebrows with a slow smirk, “I think I could handle a movie or two. Though I don’t know how I’d be able to see the screen from on my knees…” 

I choked. 

“Wh-what? O-on your - I-I- Cam!” She giggled and slowly shrugged off her jacket, letting me see exactly how long that shirt was. On the back it looked as though it had a band emblem stitched to it, though the moment I turned to close the door, I realised that I wouldn’t be getting the chance to read it. It was on the floor and she was standing in front of me in just her jeans, those boots and a bra. 

“Anyone would think I shocked you.” She reached out and grabbed hold of the towel and pulled me towards her, before I reached her, she walked backwards and sat on the bed. “Maybe this’ll be better.” The towel was gone, and so was I. 

*** 

I woke up and it was dark. For a moment, I was disorientated by the soft body that lay on top of me, until it let out a very familiar, Cam-like sigh and I grinned. Now, what had woken me? 

Still half-asleep, I glanced around, seeking out the source of the noise. A soft vibrating coming from the bedside table. My phone was lit up on the side, an incoming call with Tom’s face on it lighting up the screen. Tiredly, I reached over for it and sighed. 

“What up, man? It’s…” Ugh, three AM. “Three AM. Why are you calling me at three AM?”

“Because Christie is in the bathroom and I think she’s going to give me a blowjob.” 

“Congratulations. I fail to see the reason you’re calling me. I’m not coaching her on technique, bro. She oughta be able to work that one out on her own. I think she’s got a degree.”

“No, no, I mean… how do I tell her… that I’m not ready for that?”

“Dude?”

“I don’t wanna use her for sex. She’s really nice and funny and I like her a lot…” He hesitated, “Shit, she’s coming, later man.” 

 _He really just called to tell me he was getting laid._ I began laughing; trying to stay quiet so I wouldn’t wake Cam, but my shaking body did just that. 

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was thick with sleep, its huskiness doing things to me I never expected to happen from just hearing a woman’s voice. I filled her in on the call from Tom, not divulging him practically wanting to beg Christie not go down on him. I wasn’t that much of a shitty friend. Cam grinned, her eyes more alert and awake. 

“Sounds like a damn good idea if you ask me.” She ducked under the duvet and slid down my body. Who had I impressed enough to grant me a woman like this? I gently pulled her back up and flipped us over so that I was hovering above her, my arms bearing all of my weight.

“No. My turn.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have ben blown away by all the hits, kudos and comments (keep em coming jk) Thank you for taking the time to read this ridiculous story that began on What's App.
> 
> Once again, we do not know any of the recognisable characters portrayed in this story, they are merely our own interpretation of them.

**_Chapter Six:_ **

**_Tom_ **

There was a side to dating which, until this evening, I hadn’t known existed. This side was one of cleverness, witty banter, and incredible verbosity from the very opening word the girl said, keeping me hooked upon our conversation and, almost shockingly for a man my age, entirely dispelling my need to bed her until I had heard all of her stories. 

_She intrigued me._

She was also in the bathroom, and I was concerned at that precise moment that she was going to trot out in some kind of barely-there negligee and pretend to be Marilyn Monroe.

“Zac, man you gotta help me,” _Of course he wouldn’t_. He spent the entire thirty-second conversation cracking jokes that weren’t appropriate until I spilled that I thought I was going to get some action, by which time he was either so uninterested or tired that he snapped something witty and hung up. 

 _Fuck, man._  

I cringed and left my phone on the bedside table, staring at the bathroom door. Lucky girl had an en-suite, though at this point in time I was wishing to hell that she had to walk down a corridor, just to give me enough time to think. I needed to think. 

“Tom? Are you okay?” She poked her head around the door and smiled at me, “I forgot my shorts. They’re under my pillow, can you throw them over?” 

I was staring. _You’re staring, idiot, stop staring_. 

“Tom?” 

“Wh-huh, yeah, sorry. Sorry Christie. Of course.” I jammed my hand under her pillow and pulled out the shorts. They were cute, plain black and short, soft pyjama fabric. “Here.” I hopped up and ran them over to her, taking the opportunity to peek at her nightclothes as I did. 

I shouldn’t have worried. She had a loose band vest on, and what looked like a soft sports bra underneath. Nothing about her clothing screamed seduction and for that I was pretty pleased. 

“Thank you.” She smiled, “Do you need to borrow some PJ bottoms or something? I know we didn’t exactly plan this sleepover, but it is three AM, and I don’t want you uncomfortable sleeping in your jeans.” 

“No, no… if…” I smiled at her, “If it’s okay, would you mind me sleeping in my boxers and undershirt?” I managed to babble, “I wouldn’t want to be presumptuous but I don’t sleep next to people often, and when I do I have a tendency to overheat… so… it might be better, if it’s okay with you.” 

She giggled. 

“Of course it is! As long as you’re wearing clothes, Tom, I don’t mind. I just… need a bit more wooing before I fall into bed without them,” She paused, “and, please don’t be nervous. I can almost feel it in the air, and I’m pretty sure that it’s my job to freak out because you’re in my bedroom, not you freaking out because I might turn into some kind of succubus.” I actually breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Wooing I can do.” An idea was forming in my mind already. 

“I hope you can also do kissing, because that is something I’m _not_ averse to.” Her smile was coy yet teasing, all at the same time. I grinned back before taking hold of her hand and pulling her close. 

“Kissing’s good, great in fact.” I wrapped one arm around her waist whilst using my other hand to move her hair out of her face before claiming her lips, gently at first, then with more fervour. _Yes, kissing is great_  .

***

When I woke, it was still dark, or maybe it was dark again. The clock read ‘9.00’, yet in winter, that could mean anything. Feeling around gently, I located the quickly cooling space where Christie had been lying. It was her absence that had woken me, and as I stretched a little, I heard the bathroom door open and the gentle patter of bare feet as she moved across the hardwood floor. 

“Hey, you okay?” I smiled from the nest of pillows we had made not long after we had fallen into her bed, a mess of tangled limbs and joined lips. We’d decided that it was far more comfortable cuddling in the soft den-like space rather than on the mattress which sank a little in the middle. 

“Yeah,” she smiled back, “just girl stuff.” She shrugged. “It’s early, go back to sleep?” 

“Don’t you need to open the shop?” 

“Cam came back and did it. I heard the alarm in the office, bloody klaxon.”

“All systems go klaxon?” I purred as she settled back on to the bed and I could help but press my face against her hip. _So soft._  

“Exactly.” That was the last thing I remembered hearing before her soft snores filled the quiet room. 

I felt so well rested, I was unable to go back to sleep. I merely lay, content, with my arm wrapped around Christie’s tiny body. I had never been so attracted to someone so much smaller than me. I was beginning to regress to the proverbial caveman in that I felt extremely protective of her already, despite that she was fully capable of looking after herself. 

I must have dozed off at some point because I jolted awake as a shaft of bright light hit my face. I looked over towards the huge window, squinting, to see Christie wrapped up in a thick blanket, looking out onto the street below us, a steaming cup in her hand. 

“Sorry sleepyhead.” She turned and smiled at me softly, her voice quiet. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“Come back to bed.” I yawned, “Please, that blanket was keeping me warm. As were you.” She smiled lazily and nodded, moving around the room slowly as she drew the curtains closed again. Darkness fell once more, causing a happy sigh to escape my lips. 

“Much better. Now we can dance in the dark, if you like.” 

“Not bloody likely.” She laughed and felt around to kiss my forehead. “I had to bully Cam into making us both a cuppa. Yours is on the bedside cabinet and we are not spilling tea in my bed. I’ve done enough of that on my own.” I grabbed my tea and took a sip. “Plus, it would mean having to get up and mingle with… people.” 

“Perish the thought.” I gasped, earning a light punch to the arm that was cup free. “What was that for?” 

“No reason, I just wanted to touch you.” Even in the low light, I could see her eyes flash with… I couldn’t quite read it. 

“You don’t need to resort to violence just to make contact with me.” I emptied my cup, placed it back on the side table, and turned back to find Christie was also finished with her drink. I took her hands into my own, my fingers wrapping easily around her wrists. “All you have to do is ask. I don’t think I could ever tire of touching you.” Without warning, I pulled her into my lap, my hands resting on her hips and planted a kiss on her lips. At first she responded, but quickly she pulled back. She didn’t push me away. She didn’t even make a sound, but ever so slightly, she moved back. Off my hips, repositioning herself so she was sat across my lap, her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles. 

“Slow your roll Hiddles. I know I said kissing was good, but please. Let me be the one that decides which bits of us touch.” There wasn’t anger at my actions in her voice, just a quiet assertion. As much as I wasn’t keen to have to stop touching her, she was gorgeous and I wanted to be able to touch all of her, all of the time, but I respected her for sticking to her morals. She’d requested that we take our time, that she wanted to be wooed. Wooed she would be. 

*** 

It was four thirty in the damn morning and I had to crawl out of bed, leaving the comfort of having Christie’s tiny body tucked in against mine, but I had to get to work. I fired off a quick text to Zac, hoping I’d wake him up without disturbing Cam. I managed to find my clothes, and then it was time to try and find a pen and paper so that I could be a big old bag of cliché and leave her a note explaining that I was due in the makeup chair in thirty minutes. I looked on her bookshelves, but came up empty handed. Swearing to myself, I began to panic. There was no way I was going to leave without ensuring she knew I didn’t want to go. 

“What on earth are you doing?” Her sleepy voice startled me in the dark room.

“Trying to find some paper to leave you a note. I didn’t want to wake you, I’m sorry.” I sat on the edge of the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I have to be at work in half an hour.” I didn’t add that I’d considered calling in sick, just so I could spend another day in bed with her, but it would cause severe problems as we would be filming Loki’s jailbreak, and they kind of needed Loki for that. 

“Stupid filming.” She grumbled, making me chuckle. 

“I’ll text you later though. I’m working on ways to woo you.” I didn’t give her the chance to speak as I planted a quick kiss on her lips then stood. “I have to go, sorry.” I closed the door behind me and forced myself to walk to the end of the corridor. I had just reached the top of the stairs when Zac emerged from another room; Cam’s presumably, looking thoroughly fucked and exhausted. 

“Morning my friend.” A grunt was his only reply. Thankfully, there was coffee available on set. No one could ever get a coherent response from him until his blood-caffeine levels were right. “Come on stud, let’s get going. You’ll need at least an extra hour in make up.” I dodged the lame attempt at punching me in the dick. 

Throughout the day, whenever I got the chance, I would pull my phone out of my boot and send Christie a text. Zac was pretty much next to useless due to his lack of sleep, so I was wracking my brains to think of ideas for wooing. I didn’t want to do it just to get her into bed. She was the type of girl you’d be able to take out to dinner, to meet your parents and make them laugh, and to be honest, I was sick of getting a quick lay. I wanted to know Christie, know her smiles and her frowns, what made her laugh the longest and what made her cringe away. 

I rubbed my face, trying hard to think of what would woo her appropriately. Before I could blink, one of the makeup artists had smacked me on the wig with their brush. 

“Goddamnit, Tom, I don’t care what’s making you angst like a teenager but you need to stop touching your makeup or we’ll be here for another three hours!” 

“I’m sorry.” I groaned, and then looked up at her. She was my age, kind and a good listener. Many an afternoon had been spent telling stories and laughing with her and the two younger girls, though I am sure they were just there for the chance to kiss and tell, “Listen, Holly, you don’t by any chance know how to properly woo a girl, do you?” I pulled her to one side, not wanting to be overhead. 

“A girl? You met a girl? Tell me all about her.” I glanced down at the clock on my phone. 

“It’s almost lunch, grab a plate to go and we’ll go for a smoke.” 

“You, Mr Hiddleston, are on.” I started to walk away, but hesitated when she called out my name. “Will you also spill as to why Zac is glowing like a teenage that’s discovered wanking?” I burst out laughing. 

“If you help me out, I’ll fill you in.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together excitedly. 

“We’re on.” 

***

It had taken almost two weeks to get everything right. I hadn’t been able to spend much time with Christie thanks to the ever increasing filming schedule, but I did make a point of calling her whenever I got the chance. We had managed to grab lunch together a couple of times and even one evening meal, but it was time for the wooing to begin. 

The tickets had been booked, a cab had been booked to collect Christie, and all I needed to do was to make sure I had everything I needed. I scanned the items strewn across my dining table, making note of each and every item as I packed it all away gently. Satisfied everything was ‘just so’, I put on my coat, scarf, and gloves and made my way outside. It was absolutely freezing, but thankfully it was dry.  A mad dash upstairs to drop the heavy stuff off, before a brisk walk along the road, to make sure I arrive before she does. 

I manage it, by a whole five minutes. I had just finished a cigarette as the taxi pulled up and Christie got out before I managed to open the door for her. 

“Well, hey there stranger. If it wasn’t for the internet, I’d have forgotten what you looked like.” I pulled her into a tight hug, taking note that she had heeded my advice and dressed to stay warm. 

“Checking up on me?” I took her hand, hoping that she was okay with it. I was pleased when she didn’t pull away and gripped my hand tighter. 

“I wouldn’t call it that… per say.” I grinned as she struggled to verbalise what she was trying to say. “Fuck off. It’s tough knowing I’ve spent the day in bed with you, then not seeing you for a fortnight.” I squeezed her hand gently, my way of letting her know how I felt without vocalising it in case I came on too strong. 

“I adore my job, career, whatever you want to call it, but I do hate the way it keeps me away from those that I care about.” We continued to walk through regent’s park towards the open air theatre. “Having said that, I wouldn’t change anything for the world.” I stopped speaking when Christie pulled on my arm as she stopped dead. I turned to check to see if she was okay, but I didn’t manage to speak. Christie threw her arms around my neck and planted her lips on mine. 

“What was that for?” I asked, breathless, once she pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving. 

“For being you.” We began walking once more, the theatre directly in front of us. “You make no apologies for enjoying what you do, even though you’re away a lot, you have this… this way about you that just promotes a positivity. I've never met someone who... Simply is, you know? You like how life is. You like how you are." 

I smiled at her. How did she know just what to say to settle my thoughts? My heart slowed down and she slipped her hands from my shoulders and moved slightly to take my hand. 

"So, you want to woo me? Where are we going?" 

"Well, you know I don't live far from here, and for the longest time I have watched people come and go in the evenings here. I managed to get some tickets for the last night here. Lord of the Flies. It's going to be cold, but hopefully it'll be enjoyable." 

Her face lit up. Her eyes shimmered in the glow of the lights and she grinned at me. 

“Have you been speaking to Cam?” She asked as I lit myself a cigarette. “There’s no way on earth you’d know that The Lord of the Flies is my favourite novel... or you just got very lucky when you booked tickets. I know the adaptation’s new, but-” To silence her, I lightly pressed my fingers to her lips. They curved softly under my fingertips, and I couldn’t help but smile back at her. So beautiful. 

“I may or may not have discussed this evening with cam. I do not wish to incriminate myself or anyone else. Just in case you have a crap time being wooed.” 

“Well, in that case, lay on McDuff.” With those three words, the woman cemented what it was about her that attracted me to her. After all, most people said that quote wrong, replacing _lay_ with _lead_ , but no, this incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman got it spot on. Suddenly, I hoped she couldn’t feel the sweat on my palms, the damp panic slowly rising out of my skin. _Oh bugger._

Ten minutes later, we were holding hands under a blanket as the cool air of November forced us closer, my fingers twisting with hers as her lips parted and her mouth fell open, the sights of the open air theatre astounding her. Watching her, my eyes were drawn to every movement of every muscle, the way that the corners of her eyes crinkled in the half-light, the way that her lips parted in amazement… she was magical. 

***

“Come on, it’s only a few more steps. Trust me.” 

“Ha!” She barked out a sarcastic laugh as she stumbled up the next step, my hands still over her eyes, “You said that thirty-six steps ago!” 

“Well, yeah, but I may have miscalculated. To be honest I didn’t expect there to be so many stairs up here.” 

“Well there are, mister,” She poked her tongue out at me, looking absolutely ridiculous and simultaneously ridiculously sweet. “Are we there yet?” 

“Hey! Don’t make me carry you!” 

“I’d kick and scream if you did.” She laughed, “And to be honest, I don’t much fancy re-enacting King Kong.” 

“I can understand that, it’s not a role I’ve ever clamoured to play.” We finally reached the roof, and I led her over to the large and thick blanket I had set up before meeting up with her. 

“Who’s sofa did you raid to get this many cushions?” Her face was soft and a hint of a smile played on her lips. 

“I shall not divulge my sources of comfort.” there was no way I was going to admit that I had raided my mother’s home for as many cushions as I could to ensure Christie was comfy. “Take a seat while I grab the food, wine and a blanket.” 

Once we were settled and comfortable, wrapped in our blankets and coats, and cuddled into each other's side, I looked to Christie and grinned.

  
"Comfy?"

"Incredibly," she smiled, "and the wine is keeping me warm. So I'm all set." She winked and stroked her hand down my arm. "Are you... Cold?"

I blushed. I knew what she meant by that but for once I had no idea how to proceed.

"Yeah. A bit," I smiled at her shyly, running my hand back down her arm, mirroring her.

"We could go inside, but you've made such an effort..." She bit her lip "how about we get a little closer?" I swallowed the gasp at her words. I wanted the evening to be as perfect as I could make it and Christie had just ramped it up a level. Without a further word, I manoeuvred myself so I was sat behind her, my arms wrapped around her waist as she rested against my chest. The blanket that covered us was pulled tight while we sipped the last of the wine. 

The moment the bottle was empty, however, I was astounded to feel a gentle hand sliding along the outer seam of my jeans. As Christie laid her head back on my shoulder, I slipped my arm around her a little tighter and pressed my lips to her temple. 

"That was lovely," she sighed. "So lovely." 

I smiled and rested my hand against her stomach, feeling her fingers cover mine a few moments later as she turned her head to look at me. 

"No lovelier than you, darling. You most definitely take the cake for being the loveliest in the land." 

"Charmer," she laughed, pecking my lips gently, then, slowly leaning in to kiss me deeper. Sitting on a roof looking out over one of the best cities in the world, a woman I cared deeply for in my arms and kissing me, was suddenly my favourite way to spend an evening. I could kiss Christie for hours, but I also wanted more. There was no way I would ever pressurise her, it wasn’t me and I couldn’t not have her in my life. A matter of a mere month or so, and I hated to imagine not knowing her.

Eventually, the need to breathe overcame me and I pulled away. I could feel my chest heaving as I tried to prevent myself from hyperventilating. By the flush to her cheeks, I guessed Christie was having the same issues. I opened my mouth to speak just as a fat raindrop hit the end of my nose. Within seconds, torrential rain had soaked us to the skin.

“Perfect end to a perfect evening.” I joked as we scrambled to gather everything into our arms to take inside.

“Oh, I can think of better.”


	7. Chapter Seven

It had been almost a month since filming on Thor had wrapped up and Tom had left London for a break and Zac had returned to the states.  


I can't pretend it was easy to see Tom once a fortnight and try to keep the jealousy at bay when every other evening there were new pictures on tumblr of him stood beside different women.  


Cam, although she had been bereft without Zac - who had practically sprinted home to California having a pilot series to film - was in marginally better shape on the jealousy front, but was no less distressed at his absence.  


We had; however, experienced a jump in sales after both boys had been photographed leaving the store.  


Minutes afterward, our Twitter pages had been bombarded with questions and abuse, but neither of us was prepared to handle it. We'd quietly downplayed it by allowing our questioners to believe that they had wanted a private shopping experience in an independent store.  


In thirty seconds, we had doubled our clientele, gained approval from both Zac and Tom's publicists (Luke Windsor even sending me chocolate for my quick thinking strategies) and I think we'd pissed off the boys a little.  


Tom had texted me two hours after the tweets had gone viral, his tone clear in the message.  


_We're private customers? Are your after-hours services available to anyone, then?_  


I couldn't tell if he was joking, and because of that, I wanted to scream. It wasn't that he had been rude, because I could deal with that, but that he had either insinuated I was easy, or that I was stringing him along. When I told Cam I had got a message along those lines, she had laughed and shook her head.  


"Zac sent me something similar, look -" and she showed me the message.

  
S _o we're after hours customers, eh? :P does that mean we get to see you in your racy cosplay? ;)_ At least he’d seen the out and out fun side of it and wasn’t letting what had been said publicly bother him, but I wasn’t sure about Tom, and it wasn’t as if I could call him, he was sunning it up on holiday before he got ready for a theatre show here in London. As well as all the promo he was going to have to do for Thor.  


“Christie, stop letting it get to you. I’m sure you’ll be able to talk it through when he gets back off his jollies. At least you know he’ll be back over here pretty soon. I have no idea when Zac’ll be back this side of the pond.” I hated her for twisting my uncertainty about Tom into her not knowing when she’ll see Zac, I couldn't hate her for long,  I knew she had it worse than me in a lot of ways, but she at least knew where she stood. They would be exclusive when Zac had the time to come over here and talk everything through between her, his publicist, and his sister. He wanted Cam to meet his family, wanted her to be part of his life. I had no idea where Tom and I were.  


We were friends? Friends with benefits? Were we more than that? He hadn’t told me a thing. We simply, were. And, when sent me messages like the one about private customers, I didn’t know if his tone was one of anger, jealousy, hurt, or was it zoning me further away?  


I was driving myself insane, but I managed to keep the crazy under control and go about my daily routine at the shop and in general, but the not knowing was eating me up, and I hated myself for it.  


***

 

I was sitting behind the till, wearing my Rose Tyler dungarees, t-shirt and blonde wig whilst Cam pranced around in full tenth doctor suit, coat, converse, and 3D glasses making sure the shop itself was tidy. Plus, she claimed that as ‘ten never sits still, neither can I in this get up’.  


It was the end of the month, so the shop had been pretty busy all day as fellow nerds came in to spend their wages. I had just finished a sale on some Marvel figurines, naturally, when a gust of cold air hit me as the door opened and Tom strutted in.  


“Take your break, I’ll cover.” Cam pushed me off the stool and towards him. I’d almost forgotten how tall he was.  


“N-no I can’t! Cam, I… I’m not ready, not prepared…”  


“Oh, stop snivelling, and get your arse over there. He’s tall, tanned, and looking sexy, and currently, you’re the most loved companion in the last ten years. You can’t fail.” I jumped back on to the stool.

 

“Yeah, especially if I don’t try.” I squirmed on the seat and looked over at him. He wasn’t browsing, not even pretending to. He was just looking at me with that fond look that all the boys who came in to the shop wore when watching me work. _You are a silly girl and you need watching over_ was what that look seemed to say.

 

Nothing romantic.  


“I swear to God, I _will_ kick your arse woman if you don’t go and speak to him.” With a final shove, I was halfway across the shop before I knew it. With a backward glance at my so called best friend, I continued walking until I reached him, every eye in the shop on us.  


“Hi.” His voice was soft, softer than I’d remembered hearing it. I looked up at him, unsure what to say. I swallowed nervously and rubbed my hands gently on the denim of the dungarees.  


“Hi Tom. Been a while.” I wasn’t sure if I founded aloof or broken.  


“Been far too long.” He agreed, slowly reaching his hand down to curl around mine. “I’m sorry darling, I am. I didn’t mean to stay away for so long.”  


I blinked up at him. “You didn’t?”  


“I needed to get away for a while, get Loki out of my head.” I nodded, plausible. “But I’m back now and I have a very important question to ask you.” My entire body tensed at his words and Cam’s gasp was audible across the shop.  


“Oh… and what was that?”  


“Will you come to dinner one evening this week, with me and… my mother?” _Oh…_  


When I had Tom alone, ten minutes later, I wasn't sure as to whether I wanted to hit him or hug him. I settled for making a cup of tea as he watched me from across the kitchen.  


"So... Why should I be meeting your mother, Tom?"  


"Because we're together, Christie. I want our families to know that, to understand and appreciate that."  


"Are we together? The last message I got from you sounded like you were accusing me of being easy, Tom. The one before that..." I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. "Tom, Christ, tell me where we stand, please? You're in and out and in and out and I don't know where we are!"  


"I don't... You thought I needed to clarify it? Christie, you are... Everything I want in a woman. You are fun and smart and I want to be with you. I thought you knew! I thought you realised, you daft thing!"  


"Obviously I didn't, but I think I'm starting to." I handed him his drink which he put on the work surface beside him and pulled me into his arms, his lips attacking mine with a force that took my breath away. I let out a muffled shriek and slipped my arms around his neck as he lifted me from the floor. “Okay, I get it,” I managed to pant as he set me back down, gasping for air. “I hope you don’t kiss all the girls like that.”  


“You’ve seen the pictures, then?”  


“Obviously.”  


“Luke wanted me to tell you about it before I did it. But I didn’t know how. It was a thing, trying to disguise my new relationship with you by burying it under loads of different people, being around lots of women so that it all comes across as far more innocent than you and I really are. Than we ever will be.” He smirked and kissed my temple, my cheek and then my jaw. “I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable, darling.”  


“You could have just told me. I’m usually pretty easygoing with things like that - you know, clever ruses that make things look more innocent than they are? I’ve even been known to come up with a few from time to time.”  


“I know. When I thought about it further, I was very impressed with your quick thinking about us getting snapped coming out of here so early. You really are a godsend.” He placed a kiss on my temple. “So, will you meet my mother?”  


“I guess a meeting wouldn’t be so bad…” Inside I was in full on panic mode. As per Red Dwarf, the light bulb had been changed to red from blue. I wanted more than anything to say no, run into my room and hide under my duvet, but I could tell this meant a lot to him. “I’m sure I could manage to behave for an evening.”  


He laughed.  


"Behave? Behave? I wouldn't want that." He smirked and gently kissed my forehead, "My mother is a very normal woman, with a very nice house by the sea. I wouldn't ever, ever take you anywhere that you couldn't be yourself."  


"So I could turn up wearing one of your t-shirts and a pair of knickers and we'd still be cool?"  


"I think you'd have to put trousers on, but only because my mum's got dogs, and I want to be the only one whose tongue touches your thighs." There it was, that shit eating grin.

 

“Jesus! You can’t say crap like that! Especially not in front of your mother.” I gave him five seconds to digest what I was telling him.  


“I’ll make arrangements immediately!” He swooped me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom. “Well, maybe in a couple of hours.”    


***

 

“I think we need to hire someone in.” Cam blurted out over breakfast. “I mean, we’re doing well with the shop, but we haven’t any proper time off for ages. Now you’re swanning off to the seaside for a long weekend with Hiddles, I’m gonna be stuck here on my own and what if I run out of milk or even worse… teabags?” She poked out her tongue, which sort of ruined her wounded warrior pout.  


“Perish the thought. The world would implode if you ran out of tea.” I hated to admit it, but Cam was right. We’d always agreed that it was _our_ shop and _we_ would run it, but we’d missed out on conventions and meet ups, the very things that had brought us together, because we couldn’t bear to close up for a weekend. I’d managed just fine while Cam worked on _Thor_ and I knew she’d cope while I was away with Tom - gulp - but the shop had received a surge of popularity due to the photos of the shop online and it wasn’t showing any signs of letting up.  


“I will not rise to your sarcasm this early in the morning madam.”  


“Makes a bloody change, but I think you’re right. We do need some help round here.” Did we stick at one member of staff, or did we hire two for safety? All I knew was that we needed to trust them implicitly. Especially when my birthday present for Cam came to fruition, which reminded me, I needed to steal her phone to get Zac’s number and, or email address.  


"I'll have a think, see if there's anyone I'm willing to agree to work here." I knew I was being a stumbling block to furthering our careers but it was, as we had gathered, our shop, and I wasn't lending it out to just anyone.  


"Alright, spoilsport. But think quickly."  


We returned to eating breakfast, with me flicking through the latest issue of the walking dead and Cam catching up on Red Sonja. It was in these rare moments that we were quiet, contemplative. I spent my time thinking about Tom and I in a zombie apocalypse, daydreaming about scenarios where he was smashing in skulls and saving the day moments before I was devoured.  


I was only jerked out of my daydream by the sharp bite of cold metal clanging on my teeth as I bit down on an empty spoon. I jerked in surprise, half slipping off the chair.  


"Shit!" Blinking as I straightened back up, turning over the book so I didn't lose my page. "Don't ever let me do that again."  


"What?" Cam, the bitch, was giggling as she watched me struggle back to reality, and I could have murdered her for the smirk on her face. "Fling yourself to the floor like a bomb's gone off? We're not under attack, missy."  


"Cheek." I shook my head and straightened up, putting my dish in the sink as I heard a soft yawn from the doorway. "Morning, darling." I smiled as Tom's tall form made his way in from my bedroom, "You look exhausted." I could see Cam watching us, eyebrow raised. I flipped her off.  


“I’m okay.” I stood on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. As much as I loved the shop, mornings and Sundays were the best due to the lack of work that needed doing. At least I was safe in the knowledge that it was Saturday and a lie in was on the cards for the morning. I straightened my Buy More shirt and began to walk down to the shop, Cam following in her Orange Orange outfit.  


***

 

I set my weekend bag on the counter and rummaged through it to make sure I had everything.  


“Make sure you have lots and lots of sex. Just keep quiet cause, y’know; his mum’ll be in the next room.” Cam danced out of the way of my hand.  


“I swear to God, I will hack your Skype and change your password so you can’t speak to Zac if you don’t shut up.” I grinned at her as my words hit home.  


“Look. You. Are. Adorable. Momma Hiddles is going to bloody love you, I have no doubt.” There was a reason she was my best friend, sometimes.  


“Stop calling her that!” I hissed as I looked through the window and saw Tom climbing out of a car.  


“Fuck… a Jag.” Cam appreciated cars, and this one was no exception. I was sure she’d have gone out to drool over the bonnet if she could.  


“Right. Be good.” I hugged her tight as Tom grabbed my bag and took hold of my hand.  


“Yeah, okay.” I flipped her off and began to walk out to the car. I could see why Cam’s tongue was hanging out like a cartoon wolf. It was sleek and gorgeous. Perfect for him in all honesty.  


***

 

Tom had decided to take us the scenic route to Sussex. Just over three hours of driving later, we pulled up outside a pretty cottage with an enormous garden. As I climbed out of the car, I saw the woman who could only be Tom's mum walking down the path towards us, a wide smile on her face. It was the hair and the smile. Totally Tom.  


"I was beginning to think you were walking from London." She pulled her son into a tight hug before pulling back and looking at his face. "You look tired dear. Too many late nights? Or too many early mornings?"  


"I'm fine Mum." He took hold of my hand and pulled me forward slightly. "This is Christie. Be nice, she's special." His mum laughed as she pulled me into a hug. I had no idea what to do; a quick glance at Tom let me know to just go with it. Carefully, I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her gently to me. She smelled like baking, and on instinct I pulled her closer. She smelled like home.  


"Of course I'll be nice. Come on dear, Thomas can bring in your bags whilst we have a cup of tea." I looked back at him, his face one of surprise, causing me to smirk as she led me inside.  


A cup of tea and a plate of sandwiches were placed on the table in front of me just as Tom walked in with our bags. I expected him to drop them on the floor, but he walked through the kitchen and I could hear him walking up the stairs. Five minutes later, he was back in the kitchen. He kissed me on the forehead and sat down next to me, immediately grabbing one of the sandwiches off my plate.  


“Manners, Thomas!” His mum scolded him, and he flushed red, stuffing the sandwich into his mouth as quickly as possible. “Christie, dear, I hope its okay that I’ve aired out Thomas' old room. There’s a double bed you can share and it’s got an en suite. I had a bit of time this morning so I gave it a bit of a clean."  


"Mum, you didn't need to go to all this trouble." I had never seen him talk around his food before. He looked a little bit like a chipmunk, albeit slightly less cute, and more curly. It took a lot for me to hold back from prodding him in the jaw.  


"Of course I did. It's been far too long since you brought a girl home. And please, swallow your food before you speak." Watching him being scolded by his mum made me laugh. My chuckles were met with a miserable eye-roll and I smirked, lightly squeezing his knee. This weekend was going to be fun.  


***

 

The following day was wet and windy, but Tom insisted we went for a walk along the seafront.  


We slipped out of the door early, his mother barely awake, and Tom started pulling me along the road the second the heavy front door was shut behind us.  


"I was looking forward to breakfast, Tom," I pouted as he tugged me along the street, "why wouldn't you let me eat breakfast?"  


In reply, he merely chuckled, and I cringed, incredibly hungry. As he tugged on my hand, I rolled my eyes and stopped in the street.  


"Thomas!"  


"Christie?"  


"Stop tugging me along and tell me what you've got planned, otherwise I'm going back to bed.'  


"Oh, darling, please don't be like that! I just want to surprise you with the best breakfast in town."  


"Without bringing your mum? Tom!"  


"What?"  


"Hannibal would eat you. Shockingly rude!"  


"I'm far too stringy for Hannibal. Now get a move on. Breakfast awaits." He grabbed my hand and pulled me after him.  


After ten minutes of walking, we arrived at a tiny cafe which wasn't very busy.  


"Morning Tom. The usual?" The old fella behind the counter called out as we entered.  


"Times two please Jim.” We sat at a table at the back, near the kitchen. The scent of bacon hit me and caused my stomach to start rumbling. "Believe me; it'll be worth the wait."  


"It had better be," I grumbled, rubbing my tummy as I watched him chat to the old man at the counter. He had a kindly face and it looked as though Tom knew him well.  


"Darling, come and meet Jim," I blushed and rose, quickly putting out my hand to shake his, "I've known him since I was a little kid."  


The rest of the morning was filled with Tom introducing me to, what felt like, every OAP in town followed by the _best damn breakfast_ I had ever eaten in my life Every single person seemed to genuinely like Tom and chatted with us, ignoring the fact that he was an A list film star who was the living embodiment of many women's fantasies.  


Once we had eaten and managed to escape the attention of the other customers, we began our walk on the beach.  


The weather was, on every level, utterly dire. The wind was biting, and in the moments where it wasn't blowing in our faces, a heavy mist hung in the air.  


Tom gripped my hand tightly as we padded towards the seafront, our steps dulled by the heavy fog.  


"It’ll clear off, darling, don't you worry." He gripped my hand tighter, "but don't let go of me, okay? I don't want to lose you in this mist."  


"Knowing my luck, I'll disappear, stolen by the fairies,"

 

I chuckled and squeezed his hand, stroking my fingertips over his as I let his hand go.  


"So, are we right by the ocean, then? How far... In terms of paces?" I could hear the ocean and drifted towards it slowly, checking every footstep along the way. I didn't want to trip down any of the steps by accident.  


"Maybe thirty, forty paces? Not far at all!"  


"So... We should hit sand soon?" I grinned, turning toward him to seek out his face. In the minutes we had been standing together, the fog had thickened, and I could not see past my outstretched arm. "Tom?"  


"I'm here, darling. Don't panic."  


"Good. As long as I can hear you I think its okay."  


"It’s fine. I’ll put the light on my phone and we can head back to the cafe, okay? It'll be less foggy there!" Bless this man for just knowing how nervous I was.

  
We began to walk slowly back to the stone steps that led from the sand up to the promenade. I had only made it up three or four steps when my foot slid of the edge. Naturally, I'd released Tom's hand a split second before to adjust my hat and scarf, so I plummeted back onto the damp sand, landing flat on my back.  


"Christie!" I was physically unable to answer his. "Jesus Christ." I could hear his footsteps as he ran down onto the sand. "Are you okay? Shit, stupid question. Is anything broken? Are you able to move?" I pulled myself to a sitting position, my chest aching from being winded.  


"I'm okay, just a bit shocked and winded." I managed to say while attempting to catch my breath.  


"Well, we're going back to Mum's so you can rest in the warmth." Before I knew it, he had effortlessly swung me into his arms and was walking up the steps.

 

"Put me down, I am completely capable of walking." Tom did just that once we'd reached the safety of the promenade, but I couldn't put any weight on my right leg.  


"You can't walk on that. You probably twisted it, so... Up you get."  


"What?"  


"You won't make it back on that ankle, so I'm giving you a piggy back."  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter Eight

**_Chapter Eight:_ **   


**_Cam_ **   


Christie had been away two days and I had so far resisted texting her, wanting to give her and Tom time with each other. Until I hit a quiet patch right in the middle of ‘Who Friday’, dressed as Martha Bloody Jones. I pulled out my phone and tapped out a text.  


 _"So... Have you woken his mum up yet?"_ I giggled away to myself. _"Btw... I haven't blown the shop up yet"_  


_"Not funny, Cam! Not had the chance!! And you'd better not have! Our insurance won't cover arson!"_   


_"Well, I'm not getting any, so I am living vicariously through you"_   


_"All I've had is a trip to the hospital -_-"_   


_"Did he break you?"_   


_"She broke herself, thank you very much! - T."_   


_"I don't really need to know about her 'alone' time Thomas"_ I couldn’t even begin to imagine... _"Plus, she left her rabbit here"_  


_"She fell off the promenade and smacked her head on the sand, Cam."_   


_"Buzzkill. Is she ok? Need anything?"_ I was ready to shut up shop if needed.   _"I can be there in 2 hours"_  


_"Its fine, me and mum have got her, but she's upset that she can't enjoy being alone with me. Have a word?"_   


_"When's the best time to call her?"_   


_"Now, I'm helping mum do lunch, so you can have a word while she's laid up?"_   


_"Will do. Look after her, she's kinda special"_   


_"Of course. Anything specific I should do?"_   


_"Treat her like a queen but after you hand her her phone back and leave the room"_   


_"Fine! I'm sure I'll hear all about this later."_ No doubt he would. _"Now call her ;)"_ I hit her name in my favourites and waited for her to answer.  


"Hey Cam." She really did sound down.  


"Only you could slink off for a getaway with your man and half kill yourself." A snuffled laugh was her response. "Are you okay? Do you need me to come down?"  


"I'm better now. I mainly winded myself and jarred my head on the wet sand. No permanent damage."   


"What did the doc at the hospital say?"  


"Just to rest up for twenty four hours and from then on take it easy." Knowing Christie the way I did, that was the worst thing anyone could say to her. It was physically impossible for her to sit still. Her need to do stuff often drove me insane, but she liked to be busy.  


"Yeah... how's that going?" I couldn't help but tease.  


"I'm losing my mind. The whole point of us coming down here was to spend time together and for me to get to know Diana. I feel like I've ruined the entire weekend." Of course she did.  


"A, you're an idiot and b, who's Diana?" I swear I could hear her roll her eyes.  


"Diana is Tom's mum, and I'm not an idiot."  


"Yes you are. You had a bloody accident, not murdered people. I highly doubt you've ruined anything. Now... Promise me you'll enjoy the rest of your weekend."  


"I'll try-"  


"Promise!"  


"Okay... I promise." She actually laughed. Once I managed to get her to laugh, I knew she'd be alright. "Good girl!"  


"Patronising cow."  


"That as may be, but I'm your patronising cow. Gotta go, love you." I heard her _'love you too'_ before I hung up and turned to face the customer who had just walked in. I could tell straight away, she wasn't going to buy anything from the way she scanned the shop for hiding celebrities. I rolled my eyes and sighed, looking at my phone again. I was genuinely concerned for Christie. She hadn't even made a sex joke in our phone call, and she sounded more dour than usual. Hopefully Tom would help her snap out of it so she could enjoy herself before coming home.  


***

 

I locked up the shop, flicked the lights off and made my way into the office, needing to tally up the takings before I could run to the bank before opening in the morning.  


Eventually, I trudged upstairs and straight into a steaming shower. I was dead on my feet, yet still wide awake with excitement. Zac was calling me in less than an hour and I wanted to make sure I was ready and comfortable.   


Shower done, bottle of cider, snacks and my cigarettes at the ready, I settled in on the sofa, music on low in the background and waited.  


I'd never in my life waited for a bloke like this. I wasn't someone who hung around if a bloke didn't make an effort. I'd had too much experience of being made to look like a slag for doing all the work, but this whole thing with Zac felt different. Yes, we lived thousands of miles away and couldn't see each other much, but he still managed to make me feel special.  


I read through my Twitter feed, noticing my followers count had increased. It didn't bother me as both Christie and I, as well as the shop had been getting attention since Tom and Zac were spotted leaving. Nothing bad had been said thanks to Christie's fast thinking, but I still checked daily.  


The Game of Thrones theme tune made me jump as Zac's call came through. I assumed he was busy and with family, as it wasn't a face time call.  


"Hello sweet thing, how y'all doing?" His voice was enough to settle me and make me smile.   


"Hello, idiot. What time is it over there?"  


"Early enough. I've got an afternoon off though."  


"Wow, lucky you." He was the kind of guy who hated not being busy; a bit like Christie, so I knew an afternoon off was a pretty big deal. "You heading out to see your folks?"  


"I saw them last night, so no. I'm on my way to get ready for a meeting this afternoon."  


"Is this the one about that Broadway show?" What had my life become? I was sat, chatting away to a Hollywood star about him possibly going onto Broadway all casual. When did stuff like this become 'normal'?  


"No honey, that's next week. I'm peeing my pants about that one. I think I've driven Shekinah crazy rehearsing the song." I couldn't help but laugh. He'd sung the song to me over Skype and it was hilarious, but I couldn’t imagine having to hear it over and over and over.   


"So, what's this meetin-" I was interrupted by the buzzer. Grumbling under my breath, I stood up and stomped down to the front door.  


"What's wrong honey?"  


"Some fucker's ruining my evening by ringing the bloody doorbell. I'm just going to open the door and tell them to fuck off." Yet when I yanked at the door and came face to face with Zac, phone against his ear, all my words left me.  


“Hi.” He murmured, “I hear some fucker is about to ruin your evening.”  


“I don’t know… you seem to have scared him off.” He ended the call and walked through the doorway. “What are you doing here?” I looked up at him, confused.  


“Well, we didn’t get to see in the New Year together and I had a few days free before the meeting about Broadway, so Shekinah got me a cheap flight over.” I turned to walk up to the flat, but discovered it wasn’t too easy to walk as Zac had wrapped his arms tight around me. He may have been lanky, but he had strong arms.  


“Remind me to thank her.” I shut the door behind him and he picked me up and carried me upstairs, grinning.  


***

 

I padded across my dark bedroom to go to the bathroom, leaving Zac fast asleep flat on his stomach. I could feel a minor freak out about to hit. I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my pyjama trousers and shot off a text to Christie. I felt awful for texting her at two in the morning, but I couldn’t think of anyone else to contact and I was close to having a full on panic attack.  


 _“Freaking out here.”_ Thankfully, Christie’s name flashed on screen as she called me back.  


“‘Sup buttercup?” She sounded cheerful.  


“Sosorryforwakingyouup.” I tried to regulate my breathing as I sank to the floor and rested my head back against the door.  


“You didn’t, I was just going up to bed.”   


“Why are you up so late?”  


“Chatting, but more about that later. What’s brought this one on?” I loved this woman so much.  


“Zac’s here.”  


“He is? Wow, dude’s got it bad.” Okay, maybe I didn’t love her _that_ much. That statement wasn’t helping.  


“But… but… why? I don’t get it and certainly didn’t expect it. I was seriously waiting for the calls to peter out and dwindle to never happening. I mean… its Zachary freaking Levi. Admittedly, not as famous as Mr Hiddleston, but this is a huge deal. Also, he lives so far away and he’s going to move to New York soon when he’s a big Broadway star, and I just don’t understand why he’s here.”  


“Cam! You’re spiralling. Stop, take a deep breath, and try to calm down.” I did as I was told. I took a few deep breaths. _In through the nose, out through the mouth._ “Better?” I could feel the sweat pouring off me despite how cold it was.  


“Not really, but yeah. A little, I think.”  


“Cam. Go to the kitchen; get a drink of cold water and sit in the dark for a bit. You know it’s the best thing to do.” I _knew_  she was right, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. “Then, get back into bed, sleep in mine if you need to, and call me in the morning before you open the shop.”  


“Okay. I’m sorry for calling so late. I haven’t had an attack like this in a long time.” My head still felt a little woozy and my heart was racing a little. “I’ll speak to you tomorrow, oh, are you feeling better?”  


“Much, now let me get to bed and call me in the morning.” She ended the call, leaving sat against the bathroom door for a while before I felt ready to stagger to my feet. I looked in my room to check that Zac was still asleep, and then went into the kitchen to follow Christie’s instructions. We’d been through this so many times through uni and since, but I couldn’t recall the last time I’d had one, especially this bad.  


I sat at the table sipping my water. Slowly, I could feel my body calming down. I could have taken one of my anti-anxiety tablets, but I didn’t like the way they knocked me out. I rested my forehead against the cool wood of the table and took some more deep breaths.  


“Hey, everything okay?” Zac’s soft voice made me jump as he stood in the doorway, watching me. “I woke up and your side of the bed was cold. How long have you been out here?”  


“A little while. I couldn’t sleep. I…”I ducked my head and swallowed. “Sometimes I let things get to me a little too much and they won’t leave my head alone.”  


“That’s okay.” He smiled. “You wanna talk about them with me?” He sat opposite me and took hold of my hands.

  
“Not really.” I blushed and he smiled wider. “I mean, not yet, if that’s alright?”  


“Of course it is silly thing. I just don’t want you being upset about anything and you not letting me help.” Jesus, this guy was going to be the death of me. “Ready to go back to bed?”  


“Sure.”   


“Don’t worry about anything, honestly. I know you’re not ready to talk now, but I hope you are in time.” He pulled me to my feet and into his arms, placing a kiss on top of my head. “But, I’ll never pressurise you into it, I promise you that.” I may have swooned a little, not sure it was _all_ because of the panic attack.  


***

 

This time, it was light outside when I woke up, my alarm blaring. It took me a few minutes of lying in the following silence to realise that Zac wasn’t in bed next to me. I got out of bed, shoved my slippers and dressing gown on and went to the kitchen for a cup of tea. He was sat at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee - ewww - talking quietly into his phone.  


“Yes. I made it in one piece. Sorry I didn’t call you last night; I was more than a little distracted.” I stood back, not wanting to disturb him as he listened to what was being said the other end. He listened a moment longer before laughing softly.   


“It was easy enough to forget the bad flight when I saw the look on her face, she was… is, just gorgeous.” I felt the blush creeping from my neck to my face. I shouldn’t be listening, but if I moved, he’d know I was here and had heard him. “Seriously Shekinah, this surprise trip was the best decision I’ve made since taking the Thor job, and the thought of leaving her again in just a few days is killing me.” More silence and I really didn’t know what to do.   


I had never felt so uncomfortable in my own home, but I was frozen to the spot as Zac listened to his sister speaking.  


“Yeah, I do. I would love to stay here full time,” _Shit! What?_  “But I doubt I’d get work over here, plus there’s First Date. Broadway… I can’t even imagine turning it down if I got it.” I would even let him. I knew it was a dream of his, had been for years. I would frogmarch him to New York if he even considered saying no. “But, I can’t imagine being without her anymore.” his voice was breaking, making me want to run over to him and wrap my arms around him.  


I was just considering turning around and making some noise to alert him to my being awake when he spoke again, his voice softer than I had ever heard it.  


“I think I’m in love with her.” I ran back into my bedroom, tears streaming down my face. I grabbed my phone and dialled Christie, not paying attention to the time.  


“Jesus Cam, are you determined to exhaust me this weekend?” Her tone of voice wasn’t angry, just fed up.  


“He thinks he’s in love with me.” I blurted out.

 

“Wait, what?” Quietly and quickly I filled her in on my morning so far. “Jesus, I knew he was in deep, but not that deep. Are you going to tell him you know?”  


“Am I fuck. How do I bring that up? Oh hey, I just happened to overhear you tell your sister that you think you love me.” I made sure Zac wasn’t anywhere near my bedroom. “Christie, this is _crazy!”_  


“Why is it crazy? Yeah, you haven’t known him for very long, but you talk all the time and you know each other really well. Plus, what’s not to love about you?” I couldn’t help but laugh.  


“It’s… it’s… I can’t… “  


“Do you feel the same?”   


“I hadn’t thought about it.” I truly hadn’t, I was just enjoying the moment, waiting for it to end. After all, this was a man I had crushed after ever since I’d watched the first episode of Chuck, then heard him sing in Tangled.  


“But? I know there’s a but somewhere.”  


“I don’t know.”  


“Well, you need to work it out before he leaves again. Now, I’m going back to bed.” The cow hung up on me. _Fuck._

 

***

 

I opened the shop dressed in my Wienerlicious costume, which was one I hadn’t worn for a while, feeling a little more than self conscious. It was bad enough that I got pimply teenagers staring at me when I wore it, but knowing Zac could come down at any moment had put me on edge, regardless of what I had overheard. He’d been in the shower when I’d come down to open up, so I’d managed to hide what I was wearing.  


“Hey, Cam. I thought I’d give you a hand in the store tod-” Of course he’d be all cute and want to help me out. “I… er… I like your outfit this week.” His voice had taken on a gruffness I hadn’t really heard before. Grinning, I turned to face him and nearly passed out.   


“Did you bring that with you?” He looked down at himself, a sly grin on his face. “What kind of actor goes on holiday and takes his best known character’s costume with him? Including the pocket proctor and name badge?” The full Chuck costume was driving me crazy.  


“The kind who has a girlfriend with a comic store that has dress up theme days, one of which is Chuck.” Of course, why hadn’t I thought of that? “I knew I was going to be here, so I thought it’d be fun. I didn’t expect that though.” He indicated my own outfit with a wave of his hand.  


“It’s not one I wear very often, but after that reaction, I might break it out a little more.” The kiss he planted on me made me lift my leg like a film noir heroine and rendered me breathless. “Enough of that. I have work to do.”

“We have work to do. I was serious about helping out.”  


“You’re on holiday! You can’t work on a holiday.”  


“And you can’t work alone while I sit on my ass. No shut up and tell me what to do.”  


The day was pretty uneventful. A few of the kids that came in most Saturdays recognised Zac, but most had no clue who he was, and those were the ones that didn’t get the whole ‘Chuck’ thing, even though the DVD played at the back of the shop. Even when he was recognised, Zac dealt with it all in his easygoing way that ruffles no feathers and put smiles on faces.   


There was an hour of the day left, and the shop was deserted. I was pottering around, tidying up whilst Zac sat behind the counter, looking like he was about to film a scene for Chuck. The bell above the door sounded, but I left whoever had come in to browse at their own speed. I finished straightening up the shelves, making note of what needed ordering on Monday and walked back to the till. Zac was chatting away with a female customer, making her smile. There was nothing this guy couldn’t turn his hand to.  


“Yeah, I’m only here for a few days visiting, so am helping Cam out.” He pulled me in close to his side, his hand resting on my waist.  


“Wow, you really look like Yvonne.” Her American accent was much harsher than Zac’s, and it grated on me a little. I felt like she was assessing me.  


“Thanks, she’s gorgeous.” I smiled at her as Zac ran her purchases through the till.   


“She is. I’m a huge Chuck fan, and I’ve been to the last Nerd HQ events.” Of course she spoke directly to Zac; I wasn’t hot or famous enough for her to focus her attention on.   


“That’s awesome, thanks for the support.” He handed her a bag and her change.   


“Anytime.” She slinked off towards the door, the sway of her hips over emphasised.  


“Suuuure.” I mumbled under my breath.  


“What was that baby?” The arm around my waist tightened as he pulled me round to stand between his legs.  


“Nothing.” I looked up into his eyes, the words I had overheard that morning running through my mind.

 

“Uh huh… yeah. I’ll let it go this time.” He kissed me deeply before I was able to respond. “But, I’d be lying if I said green didn’t look good on you.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious, makes you even hotter than you are, particularly in _that_ outfit.” I laughed.

  
“Horny idiot.” I pulled away, my business head still in place. “Will you be okay on your own while I run to the office to begin the banking?”

 

“Sure, go ahead.”

 

***

  
“Cam… have you been on Twitter today?” Zac called out as I was getting changed so I could treat him to a traditional carvery.  


“No, I left my phone up here all day, why, should I?”   


“Uh… it’s up to you, but I don’t think people are going to believe the ‘private customer’ thing anymore.” I grabbed my phone. My notifications had gone crazy. Someone had tweeted pictures of Zac and I, in the shop. There were a few of us merely talking, but one of us kissing. I didn’t even bother to read the comments; I just closed the app and finished getting dressed.  


I joined Zac in the kitchen, where he’d smoked almost ten cigarettes whilst I’d been changing.  


“Are you okay?” I asked, nervously  


“Yeah, just a bit pissed that someone would do that. If they wanted a photo, should have just asked, but to take sneaky ones of private moments is a shitty move.” I lit my own smoke. “At least I can tell the world about you now.” He grinned at me.  


“Don’t feel forced into it.” I looked at the pictures again, noticing the clock on the wall behind us. I knew who’d taken the photos. It had been the American girl. I wanted to hunt her down and punch her fucking lights out.  


“I’m not. I hated not being open and honest with my fans… that sounds cheesy and pretentious doesn’t it?” I shook my head. “It’s something I’ve always prided myself on, and I didn’t like avoiding questions about my relationship status. Would it bother you if I did make it official and public?” Would it? Yes, I liked my anonymity, but would it truly bother me?   


“Of course not.” I stood up and walked over to him and sat on his lap. “I would be proud, I _am_ proud to be your girlfriend.” I kissed him hard and deep. Panting, Zac pulled away and mumbled into my neck.

  
“And that’s why I love you.”


	9. Chapter Nine

**_Chapter Nine:_ **

**_Zac_**  

I hadn't planned on telling Cam I loved her, I really hadn't. I'd only just considered the idea myself while I spoke to Shekinah on the phone, but it had just slipped out when Cam told me I could tell the world. I didn't regret saying it either, well not until she'd pulled away and looked at me like I was crazy.  


"What did you just say?"   


"I said that I love you. Admittedly, it wasn't the way I wanted to announ-"  


"You're mistaken." I stared at her, my eyes searching her face for any hint of her joking. She wasn't.  


"I think I know my own mind darlin'."  


"You can't. I mean... We've known each other for what? Two months? We are _not_ characters in some teenage love story."  


"I know that, but I meant it. Wait, hear me out." She'd opened her mouth to start talking again, but I needed to tell her. "I had only just realised what it was I was feeling when we were together, or were speaking on the phone or Skype. There's this... Not to sound cheesy and like Chuck her, but when I'm not with you, I feel like there's something missing." Not only was I dressed as Chuck, I was talking like him and as much as I loved that nerd, I felt like an idiot.  


"You can't love me. You barely know me. As I barely know you." She stood up and began pacing the lounge.   


"Camryn Marie Croft. You love comics, you have an irrational hatred of the colour purple, and you adore your job. You bite your lip and play with your hair when you're concentrating and you pick your cuticles when you're nervous or uneasy. You pick mushrooms off pizza but use them when cooking and you would do anything for close friends and family." Obviously she hadn't realised how much I watched her, how much her body language gave away about her.  


"You do realise that makes you sound like a crazy stalker." And there was the sarcasm that was her barrier against the world.   


"I don't actually care. I love you Cam, snark and all. I want to get to know you even better than I already do. I'm in love with you and I am more than a little hurt by you not believing me or accepting the fact." I grabbed my cigarettes and lit one to try and stop my temper flaring as Cam sat in silence.

*** 

That had been a fortnight ago. We'd come to a silent understanding and made the most of our time together before I'd returned to the US. Before I left the UK, my twitter notifications had gone haywire, and Cam had received a fair amount of hate causing me to get angry again and tweet, asking for people to respect me and my private life. When that didn't work, a simple _Back the fuck off_ was tweeted and then I ignored my twitter   


I flew from LA to New York to get ready for the _First Date_ audition, praying hard that I got the part of Aaron. This was bucket list stuff and I would pee my pants if it became a ticked off option.  


"You'll be fine. You have an amazing voice and they'd be stupid to turn you down. You're a Disney prince for fuck sake." Cam had stated the previous evening during our Skype call. It had made me laugh, but my mirth had been dampened by her response to my telling her I loved her, which was a wry "No you don't."  


The audition went well, so did the call back. Eventually, I got the call I'd dreamed of receiving for years, but I couldn't celebrate properly.  


"Seriously Zac. I thought you'd be floating an inch above the ground rather than stomping around like a damn bear with a sore head." Shekinah pushed me onto the sofa as I walked past her.  


"What the hell was that for?" I asked as I lit a cigarette.  


"That's for being a total ass the last few weeks. What the fuck is wrong with you?" She sat down opposite me, worry etched onto her face.  


"Nothing's wrong. I've just been stressed about this Broadway thing."  


"Bullshit. You may be a good actor, but you can't lie to me." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat under her gaze. "Tell me the truth." I took a deep breath, lit another cigarette using the butt of the one I was still smoking, and tried to clear my thoughts.  


"It's Cam." At those two words, my older sister flew to my side.  


"What's wrong?"   


"She doesn't believe me when I tell her I love her." I filled her in on what had happened in London and how Cam reacted every time I had said the words to her since.  


“Well, if I’m honest, I don’t blame her. It must be a shock to her. You’ve known her for only a short time, you live in a completely different country, and let’s face it, you’re a celebrity.” I opened my mouth to cut in, tell her she was wrong, but before I was able to get a word out, she pinched my lips closed. “To her, and many others, you are. You’ve played a Disney prince and been in a Marvel film. You _are_ a celebrity, even if you’re just my annoying brother.”  


“Shekinah.” I groaned. “How can I make her believe me? I don’t want to ruin whatever it is that we have just because I spoke too soon.”  


“Oh Honey, you didn’t speak too soon, you spoke what was in your heart. You need to prove to her that despite the distance, you _do_ love her and that your relationship _can_ work. Why don’t you talk to her friend about it? I mean, you’re already in touch with her about Cam’s birthday surprise right?”  


“Sis, you’re the best.” I swiped my cell off the table, checking the time in London - not too late - and dialled Christie’s number.  


“Hey, it’s my second favourite Asgardian.” Her words were pretty friendly, but her voice had an undertone of exhaustion to it.  


“What’s up Little Thing?” There was something about that tiny, feisty Brit that brought out the protector in me, had done ever since that night I followed her back to the store from the pub.  


“I’m perfectly fine thank you Zachary. I just wish I could get people actually believe me when I say so.” Maybe not so exhausted, more pissed off.  


“Talk to me Christie, maybe I can help. They do say a problem shared is a problem halved.” I leaned back into the couch and lit a cigarette. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk, but she definitely sounded as if she needed to judging by the deep sigh that followed the silence on the line.  


“I know I almost knocked myself out and all when we were visiting his mum, but let me place the emphasis on ‘nearly’. I’m appreciative of Tom and Diane looking after me, but it was almost three weeks ago. I am perfectly capable of doing things for myself y’know, such as going to work, and nipping out to the fucking shop, but no, apparently not.” I couldn’t find a gap in her words to calm her down the entire rant had obviously been building and she’d been holding it n so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but my words had seemingly burst open the dam, allowing her to let go. “No, my so called best friend and… and my boyfriend know better. I mean, they’ve made me rest for the past two and a half weeks and I am going insane.” Finally she was finished.  


“Oh honey. You really need to tell them. They care about you, both of them, deeply, but you can’t be feeling like this.”   


“I know, but every time I try to say anything, they both just tell me to lie down or to chill out. I’m fucking bored brainless. Could you have a word with Cam for me?” She sounded on the verge of tears. “Please?”  


“Of course I will. I’ll even have a word with Hiddleston for you.”  


“You are officially my favourite American.”

 

“What? I wasn’t before? I’m hurt Little Thing.” I managed to coax a small laugh out of her.  


“No, that would be Chris Pine.” I couldn’t argue with that, I guess. “Anyway, enough about me and my issues, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?” It was my turn to take a deep breath.  


“I need your help.”  


“Is this about Cam being an utter idiot?” Of course she already knew. “I mean, what kind of woman, when told a pretty okay looking guy is in love with her, disagree with him rather than just basking?”   


“Okay looking? Why Christie, I do believe that you just paid me a compliment.”  


“I’ll deny it.” I laughed out loud, making Shekinah jump. I’d forgotten my sister was in the room. She rolled her eyes and went back to the emails she was reading on the laptop in front of her. “So, what do you need my help with?”

  
“How do I get her to believe me?” I blurted out.  


“How much spare time do you have?” I grabbed my diary from the desk and flicked through it. God bless my sister for being organised.  


“A decent amount until I start preparing for First Date. Why?”  


“Well, we’ve finally taken on a member of staff at the shop. She’s a massive Whovian, so I think she’ll fit in brilliantly. Anyway, I think once she’s feeling confident, it could be the perfect time for Cam to take a few days off to spend time with her… not quite better half.” I let that comment slip past me as a date in my diary stood out.  


“When does this new chick start and how long do you think it’ll take for her to be trained up in the fine art of cosplay?” Her snort of derision made me smile.  


“She starts this weekend, and I reckon a couple of weeks before she feels okay enough to be left with just the one of us. Why?”  


“I have an idea which would involve her flying out here for a few days… if that’s okay with you?” Shekinah was openly listening to my half of the conversation, completely ignoring the emails in front of her.  


“Will she get to meet your family?”  


“I doubt I’d live much longer if it didn’t.”  


“Then yes. Take her away.”   
  
“Thanks little thing. You’re pretty awesome.”  


“I know. Now leave me alone, I have a friend and a Hollywood star to tell off.” She hung up on me.  


“What are you planning Zac?” I grinned as I pushed my sister away from the computer. Within an hour I had received a text from Christie with Cam’s passport details and I had booked her a return ticket to spend a week here in LA with me as Shekinah got on the phone to our parents telling them ‘Zac is bringing a girl to meet you’ before I could. 

*** 

I was a hot mess waiting for a sign from Cam that she had received the tickets. I’d sent them with a card and a huge bunch of daisies (her favourite flower according to Christie) which were due to arrive on Valentine’s Day. Both of my sisters had cooed at that small detail, making a huge fuss of how romantic it was. It wasn’t very often I regretted being the only boy sandwiched between two sisters, but this was definitely one of those times.  


The morning of the 14th dawned in the UK just as I was getting ready to climb into bed. My stomach was in knots and I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep until I knew she’d received the tickets. I sat in bed reading through the First Date script, but nothing sank in. I glanced at the clock; it was one am which made it nine in London. Another hour before the delivery was due… if it arrived on time. I groaned at the prospect of another hour of waiting. I was going to be absolutely useless after an entire night of no sleep, but I didn’t care. _If_ Cam reacted the way I hoped she would, it would be worth it.  


I wandered through the house unable to settle. I stood in front of the fridge for almost a full ten minutes, unable to decide between milk and juice when my phone buzzed on the table behind me.  


 _You complete and utter bastard! You made me cry at work._ I smiled at Cam’s message and dialled her number straight away.  


“Is that anyway to respond to a gift?” I spoke as soon as the call connected.  


“It is when you make my makeup run when I’m at work.”  


“Well, don’t expect me to apologise babe.”  


“Why would I expect that? You’re an evil man Levi.” She was still sniffling. “I loved it. Thank you.”  


“Happy Valentine’s babe. I can’t wait to show you off over here.” I really couldn’t. My parents and sisters couldn’t wait to meet her and I had a very special surprise for her while she was here.  


“I honestly can’t believe you bought me plane tickets. I feel awful because I completely forgot about Valentine’s altogether.”  


“Honey, I don’t expect you to get me gifts, I’m kind traditional like that.” I wasn’t, but I didn’t want her to feel bad.  


“You’re a crap liar, but thank you.” Busted. “I can’t wait to see you again.”  


“Back atcha babe.” I yawned loudly.  


“Oh shit. It’s stupid o’clock in the morning there isn’t it? Go to bed.” I suddenly felt incapable of standing upright. I managed to get back into bed.  


“I’m going. Night babe.” I didn’t catch her response before I ended the call and passed out.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also being posted over on our tumblr, as well as pretty pictures of our faves...
> 
> http://whedonwednesdays.tumblr.com/


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